Ha ha! He is not greedy. These people just don't want more people to be able to enjoy the great feeling of financial freedom. They try to scare everyone away from feeling secured about their future because they selfishly want financial freedom for themselves only! Of course people can retire happily with much lesser amount!

Give him some credit. He provided very detail examples for those interested to understand. If I were to choose, I would rather retire a millionaire moron.

Like I said, it is a choice.

My insecurity makes me want to have more.

Majority of rich people work hard for their money. A little greed is good for you.

We got to accept the fact that sg has a very high cost living. Perhaps those who retire now can pull through.

But for those retiring in the next 20 to 30 yrs.

My view is that it wouldn't be enough. You can do the math.

Everything in sg is imported. We can never escape Import price push inflation.

I am curious, for those who believed you don't need much to retire.

Assume you will live till 80 years old.

How much do you think you need? Care to share?

The moron said you need millions to retire. Crazy.

He already has $6m but still scared to retire. I think he need $10m to retire.

Foolish.

For those who are interested to know how much does a retired couple needs today, here is a true example of my retired parents who are in their 60s and 70s. They are living in their 3 bedroom paid up condo unit. They are retired for a few years.

Food and groceries $500 pm
Utilities $200 pm
Condo fees and property tax (pro rated) $500 pm
Mobile, wifi $300 pm
Medical $200 pm
Transport (they enjoy elderly concessions) $200 pm
Misc $200 pm
Total $2100 pm

I give them about $900 pm in monthly parental allowance. So they just need to spend $1200 pm from their own money. They are lucky to have a filial child. Nevertheless, even if I don’t give, they have the means to finance their retirement. They have income from CPF and annuities.

In 10 years time, with inflation at about 3% pa, a $1 item today will cost $1.35. So, if a retired couple needs $2100 pm today, in 10 years time it will be $2835.

So, if you are 55 today, in 10 years time when you are 65, you will receive $4000 pm as a couple ($2000 each) if you choose the CPF Life ERS, which is more than enough.

So, these are the facts. Don’t just listen to some people here. They have their own agendas and insecurities. Not true you need to have a lot of money to retire. As long as your home is paid up, you are debt free, you opt for the right CPF Life, you live a modest life and have some savings, you are going to be fine, even if you don’t have children or filial children.

If you retire in a HDB flat, your spending will be lesser since you may enjoy utilities rebates, GST vouchers, etc. So lucky.

Sure, if your retirement only last 10 years.

Anyway, the truth usually hurts. And in the case of planning for retirement, the truth not only hurts but make people really uncomfortable.

The right approach should be to prepare for more and hope for the best. Meaning if you think $2,500 per month is sufficient, prepare for $4,000 or $5,000 per month scenario.

If you just plan for $2,500 pm, you have very little room for emergency and unexpected events.

Well said. I am very curious how much the name calling user is setting aside for his retirement. 500k? 400k? And the duration? Please do share.

Why dont you look on the good side if his post? Ask yourself what would he gain from advising people to prepare well for their retirement?

As pointed out by another forummer, he already has sufficient money to retire comfortably, so why does he even bother to tell others about inflation and the risk of running out of money in their retirement? He is not selling any product nor is he asking money for his sharing.

Looking at the responses from some forummers to his post however revealed that there are people who are indeed clueless about the deleterious effect of inflation on their savings as well as their reluctance to face up to reality.

At the end of the day, it is their choice and their life. Advise and facts have been presented but it is up to the individual to follow up.

The problem with the moron is that he said you need millions to retire. He simply refused to see other people's points of view. He always maintain he is right. Typical egoistic and arrogant old man.

Insulting others will not make your problem go away. However, biting the bullet and taking a hard look at your retirement preparedness will put you in the right direction.

How much have you set aside for your retirement? Are you confident it will be adequate?

When you do the calculations right, you will end up with the same conclusion as the kind forummer.