How To Retire in Singapore

When you hear people making the statement "How to retire in Singapore", it is usually not a question but a lament or opinion that it is close to impossible to retire comfortably in Singapore.

Is it really so difficult to retire in Singapore? What must one do to ensure that they can retire comfortably when their working days are over? How much does one need to safely call it a day from having to work?

Think about it..some famous celebrities have actually moved to Singapore. This include Gong Li and Jet Li who have both become Singaporeans now. Of course, I am sure their purpose is not to retire here but it seems that they find Singapore a really nice place to live in.

I believe that most Singaporeans also do like to live in Singapore and retire here. However, they are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the high cost of living and that's when they start to wonder whether they will be able to save up enough for their retirement fund.

Based on the MOH website, it seems that the male and female life expectancy has been increasing slowly over the years and I will not be surprised that for my generation (those in their 20s and 30s) the average life expectancy should be around 85. Considering the retirement age of around 60, that is a good 20 years of time (and money) to be spent during one's golden years.

In a lot of forums, I have found similar concerns amongst many. One comment even states that:

"The rich come to retire in Singapore. The poor go to Malaysia to retire. The neither here nor there aim for Australia" - Milo178 in Channel News Asia forum

I have also been thinking that retiring in Malaysia is a very viable option as the exchange rate will literally double my spending money. In that sense, I will be able to retire much earlier compared to someone who wants to retire in Singapore. I could even rent out my place in Singapore for passive income and convert that money to Ringgit =) That is indeed a very tempting thought.

Some people think that retiring is an impossible dream in today's world. This cannot be the case as I have read of people from other countries who have been able to retire in their 30s!

So i believe that it must be possible for people to retire in Singapore. People whether they are in their 30s, 40s or 50s should be able to hit their retirement goals. It is just how long they take to reach it.

I would like to think that there are a few steps that all can take to better prepare themselves for retiring.

1. Determine how much you need for retirement

2. Start saving towards that goal and make sure that the amount you save will enable you to hit that goal

3. Invest your money for the long term to get better returns

4. Cut down on your expenditure

5. Look for sources of passive income

Besides doing financial planning for yourself, you need to make sure that your children (if any) becomes financially independent from you and do not rely on you for money. You will be surprised that some young adults of ages twenty and above still depend on parents for money.

The CPF website has an excellent calculator to help you do your planning

Conversations With The Poor

The poor people in Singapore really have sad stories to tell. While I am striving for financial freedom here in Singapore, there are actually poor people all around me who cannot even dare to dream of such an end goal.

Their lives are tangled in an unending cycle of debts, medical bills and other payments that they must make to simply survive. They have simply no savings at all.

Sometimes, one can really wonder whether it is due to their own efforts or pure misfortune that they end up doing what they are doing.

We can see the poor all around us in Singapore if we open our eyes. They are there begging on the streets, collecting soft drink cans, selling tissue paper, lottery tickets and stuff. Some of them have a sad story...some of them just have themselves to blame.

However, I don't think that one should judge them and not give them any money just because they are poor.

You never know all the sad stories behind their lives and how some of them were just like you but due to some family problems (usually illnesses and hospital bills) that they end up where they are.

As our society gets significantly older, many people might not have done the necessary financial planning to make sure that they are insured and saving sufficiently for future unxepected events. I guess that is the government's concern and it's also why they are encouraging people to save more and setting the retirement age much higher.

This video shows a sight of Singapore that is not commonly seen. I have personally seen some of these sights before and it saddens me.