How much are you earning per annum?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Simple means nothing, accuracy counts. Simplicity is not some blanket excuse to give poor advice and wrong information just because it is easier for others to understand.

First, there is no address of how the 3.5% inflation came about. Secondly, just a blanket assertion that most Singaporeans are financial illiterate and therefore do not know how to generate returns is hardly a decent rationale to assume no investment returns.

The fact that the figures are wrong and don't make sense doesn't mean it should be accepted because it happens to "send a signal to save and invest". This line of logic is no different than me lying to you that there is gold buried under your backyard and urging you to go out and dig now and then telling you later that at least it sent a signal to you to go out and get some proper exercise under the sun.

I also don't share your view that most Singaporeans are so illiterate that they totally don't know what to do with their money which you seem to be alluding to all the time. Most are definitely no investment guru, but neither are they idiots.

Is there a need for Singaporeans in general to better plan for retirement? Yes.

Is resorting to exaggeration and fear mongering through misapplication of financial models the proper way to encourage people to think more about their finances? No, it is dishonest and in some cases illegal.

I agree with this forumer. If the intent is to educate, then a realistic picture has to be painted. And it is realistic to take into account investment returns. Our CPF already earns 2.5% to 4%, without us having to do anything. So this should at the very least be taken into account. The property that we live in can also generate income, as someone else in this thread has pointed out.

Chanced upon this forum. Reading through the last few pages. Seems like the top 5% of Singaporean earners are all here, with people earning $500K pa in their 30s, having millions and millions in their bank account, investments, conti cars, condo and landed properties.

I wonder what brought them here in the first place.

Did you guys get so rich by spending time in a forum named Salary.sg? If you're that rich, would you still be interested to spend time here?

Hmmm....

This post is a good reminder to review one's preparedness for retirement and the lifestyle you intend to or can live in retirement.

I think many people leave it too late to start planning, while others are unable to save because of low income.

A study by SMU-OCBC revealed as much:smu-ocbc-study-singaporeans-are-ill-prepared-for-retirement

Though the study was done in 2005, I am not sure how many people took heed. The bottom line is you are responsible for your own retirement, pensions are a thing of the past.

This associated article is part of the above study: http://www.ocbc.com.sg/assets/PDF/ho...omfortably.pdf

Originally Posted by Unregistered

A simple calculation means just that. It is a quick calculation that allows rough assessment, in this instance, what amount one needs to live how many years and on how much per month. For this forum, this kind of calculation is more than enough to bring across the message for sharing & discussion.

A more detailed assessment is the next follow up one will have to do. At this level, only the individual knows best his own detailed worth & holdings. How each investment portfolio is yielding what kind of returns as well as his die die must have expenses. You may be happy that some of your investment are yielding good returns but when taken in total, you may be getting no more than the annual inflation rate.

I am ok to take your arguement, but it's your propensity to put words in my post that I must put straight. No where did I say people are idiots. Ignorance does not mean idiocy. Further more my post showed the Maths results, and it is not dishonest.

You don't confront your fear of not having enough savings by shooting the messenger. You take stock.

Whether one is prepared / saved enough for retirement all boils down to expectation of the lifestyle in retirement. The danger is that the reality (in terms of savings) and the expectation does not match.

A more recent study on this issue was done by HSBC in 2012 :http://www.insurance.hsbc.com.sg/1/P...mages/for7.pdf

One of the findings showed that for some people their retirement money will run out in 9 years when they were expecting it to last 17 years.

And here in this forum, people are talking about retiring at 50, 55 and expecting to live for another 30 years!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

This post is a good reminder to review one's preparedness for retirement and the lifestyle you intend to or can live in retirement.

I think many people leave it too late to start planning, while others are unable to save because of low income.

A study by SMU-OCBC revealed as much:smu-ocbc-study-singaporeans-are-ill-prepared-for-retirement

Though the study was done in 2005, I am not sure how many people took heed. The bottom line is you are responsible for your own retirement, pensions are a thing of the past.

This associated article is part of the above study: http://www.ocbc.com.sg/assets/PDF/ho...omfortably.pdf

Husband and wife, both 40. Combined income $165k pa. Expenditure $125k pa. Savings $40k pa. Excluding the condo we are living in (we love our beautiful condo), our combined net worth is now $1.3m. We plan to work till 75 and expect to die at 85. We should have enough to retire on when we reach 75 as old people don't eat much and don't spend much. We are well insured to cover medical expenses. We look forward to retiring at 75.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Husband and wife, both 40. Combined income $165k pa. Expenditure $125k pa. Savings $40k pa. Excluding the condo we are living in (we love our beautiful condo), our combined net worth is now $1.3m. We plan to work till 75 and expect to die at 85. We should have enough to retire on when we reach 75 as old people don't eat much and don't spend much. We are well insured to cover medical expenses. We look forward to retiring at 75.

hey no daughter ? if you have, please introduce her to me. I think i'd like to have in-laws like you.

i was exempted from ns due to medical. i earn a meagre 3.4k. single 34 year old. living alone. renting house. i was away from social life for 12 years due to reasons that i cannot share.

i will earn as much i can till i turn 40-45. after that i want to leave singapore forever. no hope for me left here.

i dont have any friends and i can only ask questions here. which place is better to go? i have not travelled except been to batam for 1 day and bangkok for 3 days in my life so far.

i dont know my right as singaporean. can i stay on long term in other country ? which is better city to live.

How do you manage to accumulate $1.3m excluding the condo? Saving $40k pa will need 25 years to accumulate $1m.

Not too sure what kind of work we can do at 65 not mention 75.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Husband and wife, both 40. Combined income $165k pa. Expenditure $125k pa. Savings $40k pa. Excluding the condo we are living in (we love our beautiful condo), our combined net worth is now $1.3m. We plan to work till 75 and expect to die at 85. We should have enough to retire on when we reach 75 as old people don't eat much and don't spend much. We are well insured to cover medical expenses. We look forward to retiring at 75.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

i was exempted from ns due to medical. i earn a meagre 3.4k. single 34 year old. living alone. renting house. i was away from social life for 12 years due to reasons that i cannot share.

i will earn as much i can till i turn 40-45. after that i want to leave singapore forever. no hope for me left here.

i dont have any friends and i can only ask questions here. which place is better to go? i have not travelled except been to batam for 1 day and bangkok for 3 days in my life so far.

i dont know my right as singaporean. can i stay on long term in other country ? which is better city to live.

Singapore is the best place to live. You will know this after you move to another city. You will never feel more safe, more welcome and more happy in another country. You won't believe me now, but you will, once you move away from home.

My job progression

Yr 1 $2.2K (engineer in Japanese coy) Left after 3 weeks - BEST move i ever made!
Yr 1 $2.8K ex bonus, stock (mktg in US coy)
Yr 5 $4.7K ex bonus, stock (same US coy)
Yr 6 $7K ex bonus (mktg in HK coy)
Yr 7 $8.9K ex bonus, stock (mktg in new US coy)
Yr 11 $10.7K ex bonus, stock (same US coy)
Yr 12 $13.8K ex bonus (mktg in new US coy but switched to completely different industry)
Yr 13 14.7K ex bonus

Only Pass degree (no merit or honours) in engineering