Our Take: Can Singaporeans Really Retire 10–15 Years Earlier in Johor? The Maths Says Yes — With Three Caveats

DollarsAndSense.sg published a piece on 11 September asking whether Singaporeans could retire earlier by moving to Johor, Kuala Lumpur or Penang. Its headline number: a comfortable Johor Bahru retirement needs a nest egg of roughly S$450,000, against about S$1.5 million to fund the same lifestyle in Singapore. We agree with the arithmetic. We would add three things the arithmetic leaves out.

By the Stone Group Development advisory desk · 12 September 2026 · 4 min read

The arbitrage is real, and Johor wins it on proximity

The article works from a S$5,000-a-month Singapore budget and the 4% withdrawal rule: S$60,000 a year needs about S$1.5 million invested. Johor Bahru at RM4,000–6,000 a month (roughly S$1,250–1,900) needs about S$450,000; Kuala Lumpur at RM5,000–8,000 lands near S$600,000; Penang near S$540,000. Kuala Lumpur buys better hospitals and city life, Penang buys heritage and food, but both put you a flight away from grandchildren, specialists and the CPF office. Johor Bahru is the only option on the list where a Singaporean can keep one foot in each country — and once the RTS Link opens at Bukit Chagar, the border becomes a five-minute train ride. That proximity is not a lifestyle footnote; it is what makes the smaller nest egg safe to live on.

Caveat one: the article prices renting. Owning in Medini costs about a COE

The RM1,000–1,500 monthly housing line in the Johor budget assumes a rented one-bedroom. A retiree who owns outright removes that line entirely — and in Medini, the entry point is lower than most Singaporeans expect. Bodaiju Residences starts from RM440,000 (about S$138,000) for a two-bedroom, roughly what a Category B COE costs today, and Medini is exempt from the RM1 million minimum that applies to foreign buyers across most of Johor. Take housing out of the RM4,000–6,000 budget and the remaining living costs fall to a level where the S$450,000 nest egg starts to look conservative rather than optimistic.

Caveat two: MM2H changes the sum — and a dual-key unit can pay for it

The article is right that the 2026 MM2H rules add capital to the plan: the Silver tier asks for a US$150,000 fixed deposit and a property purchase of at least RM600,000, held for ten years, in return for a five-year renewable pass with a 60-day minimum stay; Gold and Platinum scale to US$500,000/RM1 million and US$1 million/RM2 million. Two practical points. First, the deposit is not spent — it is your own money parked in a Malaysian bank, and from the second year up to half of it can be released towards the property. Second, the mandatory purchase can be an income-producing asset rather than a cost. Bodaiju’s three-bedroom and dual-key layouts (RM610,000–659,000) clear the Silver threshold; a dual-key owner lives in one door and lets the other, which for a retiree is the difference between drawing down a nest egg and topping it up. Foreign-source income, including CPF LIFE payouts, is not taxed in Malaysia for MM2H holders.

Caveat three: retire near, not far

The honest risks in the piece are the ones we hear at every viewing: distance from specialists, distance from family, and the discipline of a genuine move rather than a permanent commute. Medini answers the first two better than any other address on the list. Gleneagles Hospital Medini is a few minutes away and Singapore’s hospitals are 13 minutes from the Second Link; children and grandchildren visit for the weekend rather than the school holidays. Two risks the article underplays: currency, which favours a Singapore-dollar nest egg spent in ringgit today but moves both ways, and the ten-year hold on any MM2H property, which makes the choice of unit and district matter more than the choice of visa tier. Choose a district with its own economy — the JS-SEZ around Medini — so the asset is worth holding regardless of the passport that bought it.

Opinion & disclosure: this commentary reflects the views of the Stone Group Development advisory desk, which markets property in Medini and therefore benefits when the district does well. Figures are drawn from the third-party reports linked above; verify current numbers before acting. Nothing here is financial advice.