What is the difference between SSB and T-bills in Singapore?

SSBs are 10-year bonds with step-up coupons and free early redemption. T-bills are 6-month or 1-year instruments with a fixed yield and no early redemption. SSBs are better for flexible savings; T-bills typically offer higher short-term yields.

Which has a higher yield, SSB or T-bill?

As of the latest data, the SSB year-1 rate is 1.40% and the 6-month T-bill cutoff yield is 1.47%. T-bills tend to offer higher short-term yields when rates are elevated, but SSBs provide flexibility and step-up coupons over 10 years.

Can I redeem SSB early?

Yes. SSBs can be redeemed any month at face value plus accrued interest with no penalty. This makes them more liquid than T-bills, which must be held to maturity or sold on SGX.

SSB vs T-bill

Head-to-head rates for the Singapore retail fixed-income choices. All four series on one chart so you can see the spread at a glance.

Instrument	Current rate	Tenor	Lock-in	Cap per person
SSB (year 1)	1.40%	Up to 10 years	None — redeem anytime	S$200,000
SSB (10y average)	2.14%	10 years	None — redeem anytime	S$200,000
6-month T-bill	1.47%	6 months	Full term (sell on SGX)	None
1-year T-bill	1.46%	1 year	Full term (sell on SGX)	None

Rate environment

SSB vs 6m T-bill spread

-7 bps

6m T-bill currently leads

SSB leads (3y)

28%

of months SSB year-1 exceeded 6m T-bill

Long vs short

68 bps

SSB 10y avg minus 1y T-bill

All four series, one axis

SSB year 1
SSB 10y avg
6m T-bill
1y T-bill

All four series, one axis
Date	SSB year 1	SSB 10y avg	6m T-bill	1y T-bill
1987-05-25			3.2
1987-06-08			2.83
1987-06-22			2.9
1987-06-29				3.23
1987-07-20			3.08
1987-09-21				3.8
1987-10-19			4.02
1987-11-23				3.88
1988-03-21				3.14
1988-05-23			3.74
1988-07-18				4.22
1988-09-19			4.73
1988-11-21				4.48
1989-02-13			3.88
1989-05-22				4.5
1989-07-17			4
1989-10-16				4.38
1990-11-19				4.45
1991-02-25				3.6
1991-08-27				4.8
1991-11-18				3.42
1992-02-17				2.8
1992-07-06				2.57
1993-03-29				0.8
1993-07-05				1.08
1994-03-28				2.05
1994-11-28				2.8
1995-02-13			1.05
1995-06-19				0.96
1995-11-27				1.53
1996-05-20				1.33
1996-11-25				2.5
1997-05-19				2.98
1997-11-24				3.55
1998-05-18				3.43
1998-11-23				2.5
1999-06-22				1.93
1999-11-22				1.76
2000-05-10				3.02
2000-12-11				2.8
2001-05-10				2.25
2001-11-29				1.2
2002-04-29				1
2002-11-27				0.8
2003-04-29				0.67
2003-11-26				0.92
2004-04-28				0.8
2004-11-26				1.34
2005-04-27				2.15
2005-11-28				3.03
2006-04-26				3.06
2006-09-27				3.21
2007-04-26				2.45
2007-09-26				2.16
2008-04-28				1.2
2008-10-29				1.2
2009-04-28				0.31
2009-10-28				0.6
2010-04-28				0.5
2010-10-27				0.39
2011-04-27				0.44
2011-10-27				0.3
2012-04-26				0.24
2012-07-09			0.23
2012-07-23			0.19
2012-08-06			0.28
2012-08-17			0.3
2012-09-03			0.29
2012-09-17			0.37
2012-10-01			0.34
2012-10-15			0.27
2012-10-29			0.28	0.29
2012-11-12			0.27
2012-11-26			0.28
2012-12-10			0.28
2012-12-24			0.29
2013-01-07			0.29
2013-01-21			0.26
2013-02-04			0.29
2013-02-18			0.29
2013-03-04			0.28
2013-03-18			0.26
2013-04-01			0.24
2013-04-15			0.26
2013-04-26				0.25
2013-04-29			0.24
2013-05-13			0.27
2013-05-27			0.31
2013-06-10			0.31
2013-06-24			0.35
2013-07-08			0.3
2013-07-22			0.31
2013-08-05			0.3
2013-08-19			0.3
2013-09-02			0.29
2013-09-16			0.3
2013-09-30			0.29
2013-10-14			0.3
2013-10-28			0.28
2013-10-29				0.28
2013-11-11			0.28
2013-11-25			0.29
2013-12-09			0.28
2013-12-23			0.3
2014-04-28				0.38
2014-10-29				0.39
2015-04-28				0.99
2015-10-01	0.96	2.63
2015-10-28				1.28
2015-11-02	1.18	2.78
2015-12-01	1.15	2.44
2016-01-04	1.21	2.58
2016-02-01	1	2.5
2016-03-01	1.09	2.44
2016-04-01	1.04	2.19
2016-04-27				1
2016-05-03	0.97	2.09
2016-06-01	0.9	1.94
2016-07-01	0.93	2.06
2016-08-01	0.89	2.03
2016-09-01	0.87	1.75
2016-10-03	0.84	1.79
2016-10-27				0.94
2016-11-01	0.77	1.79
2016-12-01	0.87	1.87
2017-01-03	0.91	2.18
2017-01-25				1.05
2017-02-01	1.05	2.44
2017-03-01	1.04	2.38
2017-04-03	1.02	2.27
2017-04-26				1.03
2017-05-02	1	2.32
2017-06-01	1.02	2.16
2017-07-03	1.04	2.12
2017-07-26				1.24
2017-08-01	1.05	2.06
2017-09-04	1.15	2.12
2017-10-02	1.19	2.13
2017-10-27				1.37
2017-11-01	1.21	2.07
2017-12-01	1.26	2.16
2018-01-02	1.32	2.13
2018-01-26				1.38
2018-02-01	1.55	2.04
2018-03-01	1.42	2.11
2018-04-02	1.42	2.31
2018-04-25				1.76
2018-05-02	1.65	2.39
2018-06-01	1.68	2.43
2018-07-02	1.72	2.63
2018-07-26				1.74
2018-08-01	1.78	2.57
2018-09-03	1.75	2.44
2018-10-01	1.74	2.42
2018-10-26				1.97
2018-11-01	1.8	2.48
2018-12-03	1.89	2.57
2019-01-02	2.01	2.45
2019-01-28				2.06
2019-02-01	1.98	2.2
2019-03-01	1.95	2.18
2019-04-01	1.96	2.16
2019-04-25				1.97
2019-05-02	1.95	2.16
2019-06-03	1.88	2.13
2019-06-27			1.93
2019-07-01	1.93	2.16
2019-07-11			1.8
2019-07-25			1.84
2019-07-26				1.78
2019-08-01	1.68	2.01
2019-08-06			1.82
2019-08-22			1.83
2019-09-02	1.65	1.95
2019-09-05			1.83
2019-09-19			1.83
2019-10-01	1.64	1.75
2019-10-03			1.81
2019-10-17			1.72
2019-10-25				1.64
2019-10-31			1.68
2019-11-01	1.62	1.74
2019-11-14			1.58
2019-11-27			1.65
2019-12-02	1.56	1.71
2019-12-12			1.72
2019-12-23			1.79
2020-01-02	1.52	1.76
2020-01-09			1.58
2020-01-22			1.53
2020-01-28				1.44
2020-02-03	1.54	1.75
2020-02-06			1.61
2020-02-20			1.58
2020-03-02	1.43	1.71
2020-03-05			1.04
2020-03-19			1.4
2020-04-01	1.46	1.63
2020-04-02			0.7
2020-04-16			0.55
2020-04-27				0.45
2020-04-29			0.4
2020-05-04	0.96	1.39
2020-05-14			0.2
2020-05-28			0.23
2020-06-01	0.57	1.05
2020-06-11			0.24
2020-06-25			0.3
2020-07-01	0.3	0.8
2020-07-09			0.26
2020-07-23			0.27
2020-07-27				0.31
2020-08-03	0.27	0.93
2020-08-05			0.24
2020-08-20			0.27
2020-09-01	0.24	0.88
2020-09-03			0.26
2020-09-17			0.25
2020-10-01	0.26	0.9	0.26
2020-10-15			0.25
2020-10-27				0.28
2020-10-29			0.28
2020-11-02	0.23	0.91
2020-11-12			0.3
2020-11-26			0.32
2020-12-01	0.24	0.87
2020-12-10			0.45
2020-12-23			0.38
2021-01-04	0.27	0.9
2021-01-07			0.33
2021-01-21			0.3	0.38
2021-02-01	0.32	0.89
2021-02-04			0.29
2021-02-18			0.31
2021-03-01	0.28	0.97
2021-03-04			0.35
2021-03-18			0.44
2021-03-31			0.41
2021-04-01	0.35	1.15
2021-04-15			0.37	0.43
2021-04-29			0.37
2021-05-03	0.37	1.56
2021-05-12			0.33
2021-05-27			0.3
2021-06-01	0.38	1.61
2021-06-10			0.3
2021-06-24			0.33
2021-07-01	0.36	1.53
2021-07-08			0.32
2021-07-22			0.32	0.35
2021-08-02	0.34	1.5
2021-08-04			0.32
2021-08-19			0.3
2021-09-01	0.35	1.43
2021-09-02			0.3
2021-09-16			0.3
2021-09-30			0.36
2021-10-01	0.35	1.39
2021-10-14			0.37	0.6
2021-10-28			0.46
2021-11-01	0.34	1.45
2021-11-11			0.49
2021-11-25			0.55
2021-12-01	0.41	1.71
2021-12-09			0.55
2021-12-23			0.53
2022-01-03	0.45	1.78
2022-01-06			0.55
2022-01-20			0.48	0.75
2022-02-03	0.52	1.64	0.67
2022-02-17			0.76
2022-03-01	0.59	1.79
2022-03-03			0.78
2022-03-17			0.95
2022-03-31			1.22
2022-04-01	0.71	1.91
2022-04-13			1.32	2
2022-04-27			1.56
2022-05-04	0.86	2.09
2022-05-11			1.69
2022-05-26			1.8
2022-06-01	1.43	2.53
2022-06-09			2.04
2022-06-23			2.36
2022-07-01	1.69	2.71
2022-07-07			2.66
2022-07-21			2.93	3.1
2022-08-01	2	3
2022-08-04			2.87
2022-08-18			2.98
2022-09-01	2.63	2.8	2.99
2022-09-15			3.32
2022-09-29			3.32
2022-10-03	2.6	2.75
2022-10-13			3.77	3.72
2022-10-27			4.19
2022-11-01	3.08	3.21
2022-11-10			4
2022-11-24			3.9
2022-12-01	3.26	3.47
2022-12-08			4.4
2022-12-21			4.28
2023-01-03	2.95	3.26
2023-01-05			4.2
2023-01-18			4
2023-01-26				3.87
2023-02-01	2.84	2.97
2023-02-02			3.88
2023-02-16			3.93
2023-03-01	2.76	2.9
2023-03-02			3.98
2023-03-16			3.65
2023-03-30			3.85
2023-04-03	3.01	3.15
2023-04-13			3.75
2023-04-20				3.58
2023-04-26			3.83
2023-05-02	3.03	3.07
2023-05-11			3.78
2023-05-25			3.85
2023-06-01	2.81	2.81
2023-06-08			3.84
2023-06-22			3.89
2023-07-03	2.76	2.82
2023-07-06			3.99
2023-07-20			3.85
2023-07-27				3.74
2023-08-01	2.97	2.99
2023-08-03			3.75
2023-08-17			3.73
2023-08-31			3.7
2023-09-01	3.01	3.06
2023-09-14			3.73
2023-09-28			4.07
2023-10-02	3.05	3.16
2023-10-12			3.87
2023-10-19				3.7
2023-10-26			3.95
2023-11-01	3.21	3.32
2023-11-08			3.75
2023-11-23			3.8
2023-12-01	3.3	3.4
2023-12-07			3.74
2023-12-20			3.73
2024-01-02	3	3.07
2024-01-04			3.74
2024-01-18			3.7
2024-01-25				3.45
2024-02-01	2.72	2.81	3.54
2024-02-15			3.66
2024-02-29			3.8
2024-03-01	2.74	2.88
2024-03-14			3.78
2024-03-27			3.8
2024-04-01	2.95	3.04
2024-04-11			3.75
2024-04-18				3.58
2024-04-25			3.74
2024-05-02	2.99	3.06
2024-05-09			3.7
2024-05-23			3.65
2024-06-03	3.26	3.33
2024-06-06			3.76
2024-06-20			3.74
2024-07-01	3.26	3.3
2024-07-04			3.7
2024-07-18			3.64
2024-07-25				3.38
2024-08-01	3.19	3.22	3.4
2024-08-15			3.34
2024-08-29			3.13
2024-09-02	3.06	3.1
2024-09-12			3.1
2024-09-26			2.97
2024-10-01	2.59	2.77
2024-10-10			3.06
2024-10-17				2.71
2024-10-24			2.99
2024-11-01	2.25	2.56
2024-11-07			3.04
2024-11-21			3.08
2024-12-02	2.66	2.81
2024-12-05			3
2024-12-19			3.02
2025-01-02	2.73	2.86	3.05
2025-01-16			2.99
2025-01-23				2.95
2025-01-28			3.04
2025-02-03	2.76	2.82
2025-02-13			2.9
2025-02-27			2.75
2025-03-03	2.83	2.97
2025-03-13			2.56
2025-03-26			2.73
2025-04-01	2.73	2.85
2025-04-10			2.5
2025-04-16				2.29
2025-04-24			2.38
2025-05-02	2.49	2.69
2025-05-07			2.3
2025-05-22			2.2
2025-06-02	2.2	2.56
2025-06-05			2.05
2025-06-19			2
2025-07-01	2.06	2.49
2025-07-03			1.85
2025-07-17			1.79
2025-07-24				1.68
2025-07-31			1.77
2025-08-01	1.82	2.29
2025-08-14			1.59
2025-08-28			1.44
2025-09-01	1.71	2.11
2025-09-11			1.38
2025-09-25			1.44
2025-10-01	1.56	1.93
2025-10-09			1.44
2025-10-15				1.35
2025-10-23			1.41
2025-11-03	1.39	1.83
2025-11-06			1.37
2025-11-20			1.39
2025-12-01	1.35	1.85
2025-12-04			1.41
2025-12-18			1.48
2025-12-31			1.6
2026-01-02	1.33	1.99
2026-01-15			1.39
2026-01-22				1.44
2026-01-29			1.37
2026-02-02	1.35	2.25
2026-02-12			1.36
2026-02-26			1.36
2026-03-02	1.38	2.16
2026-03-12			1.37
2026-03-26			1.46
2026-04-01	1.36	1.99
2026-04-09			1.47
2026-04-16				1.46
2026-05-04	1.4	2.14

SSB year-1 minus 6m T-bill (spread)

SSB year-1 minus 6m T-bill

SSB year-1 minus 6m T-bill (spread)
Date	SSB year-1 minus 6m T-bill
2019-06-27	-0.05
2019-07-11	0.13
2019-07-25	0.09
2019-08-06	-0.14
2019-08-22	-0.15
2019-09-05	-0.18
2019-09-19	-0.18
2019-10-03	-0.17
2019-10-17	-0.08
2019-10-31	-0.04
2019-11-14	0.04
2019-11-27	-0.03
2019-12-12	-0.16
2019-12-23	-0.23
2020-01-09	-0.06
2020-01-22	-0.01
2020-02-06	-0.07
2020-02-20	-0.04
2020-03-05	0.39
2020-03-19	0.03
2020-04-02	0.76
2020-04-16	0.91
2020-04-29	1.06
2020-05-14	0.76
2020-05-28	0.73
2020-06-11	0.33
2020-06-25	0.27
2020-07-09	0.04
2020-07-23	0.03
2020-08-05	0.03
2020-08-20	0
2020-09-03	-0.02
2020-09-17	-0.01
2020-10-01	0
2020-10-15	0.01
2020-10-29	-0.02
2020-11-12	-0.07
2020-11-26	-0.09
2020-12-10	-0.21
2020-12-23	-0.14
2021-01-07	-0.06
2021-01-21	-0.03
2021-02-04	0.03
2021-02-18	0.01
2021-03-04	-0.07
2021-03-18	-0.16
2021-03-31	-0.13
2021-04-15	-0.02
2021-04-29	-0.02
2021-05-12	0.04
2021-05-27	0.07
2021-06-10	0.08
2021-06-24	0.05
2021-07-08	0.04
2021-07-22	0.04
2021-08-04	0.02
2021-08-19	0.04
2021-09-02	0.05
2021-09-16	0.05
2021-09-30	-0.01
2021-10-14	-0.02
2021-10-28	-0.11
2021-11-11	-0.15
2021-11-25	-0.21
2021-12-09	-0.14
2021-12-23	-0.12
2022-01-06	-0.1
2022-01-20	-0.03
2022-02-03	-0.15
2022-02-17	-0.24
2022-03-03	-0.19
2022-03-17	-0.36
2022-03-31	-0.63
2022-04-13	-0.61
2022-04-27	-0.85
2022-05-11	-0.83
2022-05-26	-0.94
2022-06-09	-0.61
2022-06-23	-0.93
2022-07-07	-0.97
2022-07-21	-1.24
2022-08-04	-0.87
2022-08-18	-0.98
2022-09-01	-0.36
2022-09-15	-0.69
2022-09-29	-0.69
2022-10-13	-1.17
2022-10-27	-1.59
2022-11-10	-0.92
2022-11-24	-0.82
2022-12-08	-1.14
2022-12-21	-1.02
2023-01-05	-1.25
2023-01-18	-1.05
2023-02-02	-1.04
2023-02-16	-1.09
2023-03-02	-1.22
2023-03-16	-0.89
2023-03-30	-1.09
2023-04-13	-0.74
2023-04-26	-0.82
2023-05-11	-0.75
2023-05-25	-0.82
2023-06-08	-1.03
2023-06-22	-1.08
2023-07-06	-1.23
2023-07-20	-1.09
2023-08-03	-0.78
2023-08-17	-0.76
2023-08-31	-0.73
2023-09-14	-0.72
2023-09-28	-1.06
2023-10-12	-0.82
2023-10-26	-0.9
2023-11-08	-0.54
2023-11-23	-0.59
2023-12-07	-0.44
2023-12-20	-0.43
2024-01-04	-0.74
2024-01-18	-0.7
2024-02-01	-0.82
2024-02-15	-0.94
2024-02-29	-1.08
2024-03-14	-1.04
2024-03-27	-1.06
2024-04-11	-0.8
2024-04-25	-0.79
2024-05-09	-0.71
2024-05-23	-0.66
2024-06-06	-0.5
2024-06-20	-0.48
2024-07-04	-0.44
2024-07-18	-0.38
2024-08-01	-0.21
2024-08-15	-0.15
2024-08-29	0.06
2024-09-12	-0.04
2024-09-26	0.09
2024-10-10	-0.47
2024-10-24	-0.4
2024-11-07	-0.79
2024-11-21	-0.83
2024-12-05	-0.34
2024-12-19	-0.36
2025-01-02	-0.32
2025-01-16	-0.26
2025-01-28	-0.31
2025-02-13	-0.14
2025-02-27	0.01
2025-03-13	0.27
2025-03-26	0.1
2025-04-10	0.23
2025-04-24	0.35
2025-05-07	0.19
2025-05-22	0.29
2025-06-05	0.15
2025-06-19	0.2
2025-07-03	0.21
2025-07-17	0.27
2025-07-31	0.29
2025-08-14	0.23
2025-08-28	0.38
2025-09-11	0.33
2025-09-25	0.27
2025-10-09	0.12
2025-10-23	0.15
2025-11-06	0.02
2025-11-20	0
2025-12-04	-0.06
2025-12-18	-0.13
2025-12-31	-0.25
2026-01-15	-0.06
2026-01-29	-0.04
2026-02-12	-0.01
2026-02-26	-0.01
2026-03-12	0.01
2026-03-26	-0.08
2026-04-09	-0.11

Positive = SSB year-1 leads. Negative = 6m T-bill leads. The spread tends to widen when MAS tightens short-term rates.

Which one for which scenario

This is a framing guide, not advice. Match the instrument to the job.

Flexible savings (no lock-in)

SSB. Redeem any month at face value. If rates rise, switch to the new issue. Currently: 1.40% year 1, stepping up to 2.14% over 10 years.

Short-term yield (6 months)

6m T-bill if you can lock in for 180 days. Currently: 1.47% cutoff. No early redemption, but often the highest-yielding retail option at the short end.

Known cash need in ~1 year

1y T-bill. Currently: 1.46% cutoff. Better tenor match than rolling two 6m T-bills if you're targeting a specific date.

Long-term hold (years)

SSB 10y average: 2.14%. Compare against multi-year fixed deposits. SSB still lets you exit anytime, which FDs don't.

Key differences

SSB is a savings-like instrument with step-up coupons and free redemption. It shines when you want a place to park money you might need in months-to-years, without committing to a specific term.
6-month T-bill is a lock-in-for-180-days instrument. It often prices above SSB year-1 when short rates are elevated — so it can be the short-duration yield leader, at the cost of no early redemption.
1-year T-bill sits between the two on duration. It's useful when you have a known cash need ~12 months out.
SSB 10-year average is what you'd earn if you hold the bond to maturity. Most useful as a comparison to long-dated fixed deposits or other multi-year alternatives.

Taxes, CPF eligibility, and settlement details differ between SSB and T-bill — check MAS's product pages before buying.