As noted, the earliest penalty free withdrawal age is currently 62. So far as I'm aware the government has not announced any plans to change that age. Nonetheless, if you're concerned that the age might increase, yes, you can open a SRS with a minimum contribution. That'll probably "lock down" the age 62 rule for you.
For these purposes I'd recommend a Singapore Government Security (SGS), i.e. a government bond. The 5 year bond (Issue Code N517100F) goes on sale in just a few days (March, 2017), and it'll probably yield about 1.7%. You can buy $1,000 of face value, and that'll probably cost just over $1,000. Unfortunately you'll have to visit a DBS, OCBC, or UOB branch to do it (call ahead), but you can do it. You can specify that you want $1,000 of bond (face value), noncompetitive bid, and to pay *exactly* what the bond costs at auction -- and to treat those funds as SRS. When you place the bid (fill out the form) you'll have some funds withdrawn from your regular bank account, and then when the auction completes you'll have the bond recorded in your new SRS account with any over-withdrawal credited back to your regular bank account.
There's no investment or custodial charge for buying a bond, there's no redemption charge if you hold the bond to maturity, and at this level of funding (~$1,000) it's probably the best option. If you start to add to your SRS in bigger dollar amounts then you can direct funds to other investments if you wish.
so I would assume it's safe to say that even if I have no intention currently to contribute large amounts to srs due to my taxable income, it would make sense that I create an srs account and contribute 1$ to lock in the retirement rate?
