Hey Rhys, you started a good discussion topic on CPF amount but you hijacked it to talk about career issues.

The CPF issue got into the spot light recently because our Gahmen think it should be sufficient to sustain low to middle income earners by the time they retire assuming they managed to achieve the required minimum sum. This sum would then be used to purchase an annuity plan that pays out a monthly sum from 65 till the recipients pass on.

Currently the minimum sum required is $148K (from Jul 13). I see it continuously increasing every year to keep pace with inflation, possibly by $10K a year.

Is it realistic for young workers to meet / catch up with this amount? I am not sure.

For older workers like myself, in the initial years, I was behind in the amount. But I took the plunge and transfer money from my OA account to meet the minimum sum then. Because of the relatively high interest rate of 4%, my SA amount now is always above the prevailing minimum sum. For eg, my SA amount is now $180K against the required $148K.

But I dont think I can just rely on the annuity payout when I reached 65. I am looking at other income sources.