[SINGAPORE] Affluent Singaporeans are hopping on the “mini-retirement” trend, an HSBC report found on Thursday (Sep 4). Nearly half of those polled are planning to take multiple such career breaks, slightly higher than the global average.
Conducted by Ipsos Asia, HSBC’s Quality of Life: Affluent Investor Snapshot 2025 polled more than 10,000 affluent individuals across 12 markets, with investable assets ranging from US$100,000 to US$2 million.
A mini-retirement is defined as an intentional career break to focus on passions, well-being and family, lasting from a few months to a few years. The average duration was found to be six to 12 months.
While the 701 affluent Singaporeans polled have a “strong” desire to take such breaks, only 62 per cent of them felt confident when planning these mini-retirements and returning to their jobs afterwards, compared with a 74 per cent global average. HSBC said that this is where early wealth planning becomes essential.
More than half said they will fund these breaks with investment income and personal savings, compared with less than half globally.
What Singaporeans want
The lower confidence contrasts with 49 per cent of Singaporeans wanting to take a mini-retirement, compared with 45 per cent globally. The top factors motivating these breaks are unrestricted travel and spending time with family, as cited by nearly two in five Singaporeans. Only about a third of all respondents cited these as their top drivers for mini-retirements.
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Physical, mental and emotional well-being were also cited as priorities by 36 per cent of Singaporeans, compared with an average of 31 per cent.
Singaporeans also differ from the average when financing these breaks – 52 per cent said they will rely on dividends, interest or capital gains, compared to 45 per cent globally. Personal savings and pension funds were cited as a funding source by 56 and 37 per cent of Singaporeans, respectively, compared with the global averages of 49 and 32 per cent.
Taking mini-retirements, especially multiple ones, also involves planning for factors like financial security, as cited by nearly half the Singaporeans polled. More than a third also pointed to family obligations and job market re-entry as other planning factors.
Nearly a third of Singaporeans plan to take their breaks by travelling to Malaysia, while a quarter of them want to visit Australia and Japan.
More than nine million tourists from Singapore visited Malaysia in 2024, compared with 361,000 for Australia and 691,000 for Japan.
