Half of all middle-class Singaporeans dont have enough savings to cover six months of expenses if they lose their job and onein five say they wont even last a month, according to a report by financial comparison site GoBear.

The report, published on Friday (Nov 1), surveyed1,028 middle-class Singaporeans aged between 18 and 65 on their attitudes toward personal finance. It did not define what middle-class meant.

The survey found that local respondents top three financial priorities weresaving money, achievingfinancial independence, and creating an emergency fund.

Read also:Half of Singapore is in the worlds richest 10% and 226,000 people are among the elite 1%

However, 45 per cent of respondents admitted they did not have enough savings to cover half a years worth of expenses, with 21 per cent adding they couldnt live beyond a month if they lost their main source of income.

Stashing away six months worth of salary in an emergency fund is a common piece of financial advice to guard against retrenchment or sudden expenses such as medical bills.

GoBear citedfinancial risk management expert Wong Kon How as saying this was because most Singaporeans assets were locked away inproperty and CPF accounts.

Wong added that this monthly expenditure could have been influenced by pressure to keep up appearances and becoming accustomed to a certain quality of life.

The report also found that found thatSingaporean respondents owned about nine financial products on average higher than respondents of similar surveys in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Respondents here also hadhigher levels of financial knowledge compared to their Asian counterparts.

Despite this, almost half the Singapore respondents werepessimistic about their financial future, and feltfinancially insecure.About 55 per cent of respondents said the rising cost of living in Singapore outpaced their earnings.

When asked about growing their wealth, one in three said they did not know how to do so.A quarter said they believed investing was risky, and one in five still keptcash at home in piggy banks.

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1 in 5 middle-class Singaporeans wont survive a month if they lose their jobs, survey finds - Business Insider