How much are you earning per annum?

First of all, we must accept the aging process. At 50, your $137k pa is around $7-8k pm(after taking away the bonus and car allowances). That will put you in the top 20-25% of income earners in your age group. Not bad already.

Instead of complaining about the promotion, you must instead watch out for your job security.
Managers are easy to replace, especially if they don't have technical background relevant to their job. Is the recent assignment to a less prestigious department signs that the company sees less value in your contribution?

At 50, you don't really have much bargaining power inside the company or outside in the job market. And working 15+ years in a company though reasonably long is chicken feed to the many colleagues in my company who have stuck it out with the company through thick and thin for 30years and more! Quite a number of them, senior execs, are earning around your salary.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hey guys, is this annual salary 137000 (including bonus and car allowance etc) normal for my age (very extreme early 50s). I have masters from a local uni. Manage 20+ staff (used to be 40+). The industry im working at is very small. Recently got transferred to another place, a less prestigious department of the company, while people surrounding me got promoted. Quite demoralised since i worked there for 15+ years.

At your old age, it is lucky that you are still employed. Many people at your age either got retrenched, asked to leave or being forced to leave as life is made difficult for them. They are then replaced with younger, cheaper workers. Having a masters or even two masters degree means nothing. Be thankful you still have a job that pays quite high for an old man.

You must be prepared for the day, don't be fooled. Have you cleared your home mortgage? Where are you staying - a HDB flat or a condo? Do you have enough savings? Is your wife working?

You must be prepared to become either a taxi driver, insurance agent or property agent one of these fateful days.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hey guys, is this annual salary 137000 (including bonus and car allowance etc) normal for my age (very extreme early 50s). I have masters from a local uni. Manage 20+ staff (used to be 40+). The industry im working at is very small. Recently got transferred to another place, a less prestigious department of the company, while people surrounding me got promoted. Quite demoralised since i worked there for 15+ years.

43, non grad, $64k pa. spouse, 40, grad, $70k pa. we are not as rich as many here. however, we are happy. our hdb flat no more loan, we bought it cheap 15 years ago. we have food on the table and we have fast mrt to travel. we still go for holidays to neighbouring countries, we always feel thankful after each holiday - when we saw the many beggars on the streets in these countries, we are thankful we have a nice home, a good government, clean water and safe streets.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

43, non grad, $64k pa. spouse, 40, grad, $70k pa. we are not as rich as many here. however, we are happy. our hdb flat no more loan, we bought it cheap 15 years ago. we have food on the table and we have fast mrt to travel. we still go for holidays to neighbouring countries, we always feel thankful after each holiday - when we saw the many beggars on the streets in these countries, we are thankful we have a nice home, a good government, clean water and safe streets.

Your family income is quite high actually. The median household income in Spore is about $94k. And since you have no debt and no car, your household expense is only about $50k pa if you have two school going children. You can save $84k pa. Over 20 years, you can save $1.6m or more. You can retire comfortably at 65. This is made possible because of cheap BTO HDB flats. You can clear your mortgage fast and save for retirement. Just make sure you don't gamble, smoke, drink, womanize nor sodomize. These will drain your money away in losses, divorces, STDs and AIDs medical treatment.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Small time business owner, in our early 50s. Earn $100k pa. We stay in a 4 room HDB flat, now worth $500k, finished paying mortgage.

Thinking of upgrading to a condo. Many of our friends now staying in condo and they like the condo facilities and privacy. They say also very safe. We have spare cash of $300k. If we sell our flat and use the cash, we can buy a $800k condo. Any comments or suggestions from gurus here? Thank you.

You can consider the Lakeside District to upgrade to.

I believe while prices in the CCR will go down, prices in the Lakeside District will go up.
CCR prices have gone up too much in recent years and now correcting whereas prices in the Jurong area has not gone up much and starting to rise big time. In CCR, prices can be as much as $5000 psf, whereas in Jurong area prices are only $1000 psf on average.

Below is a useful article to read.


Lakeside to get boost from future amenities

Plans under way for development of a business and medical hub nearby

Published on Mar 22, 2014

By Cheryl Ong


LAKESIDE is probably best known to Singaporeans as the home of the quaint, tranquil Japanese and Chinese gardens.

The area remains one of the quieter and less developed regions but it is set to get swept up in plans to develop the Jurong Lake District into a waterfront precinct for business, living and leisure.

Lakeside, along with the Jurong Gateway area, is in the 360ha Jurong Lake District, part of the Government's plan to decentralise commercial hubs to the suburbs.

The development of a commercial and medical hub in Jurong Gateway will see a surge in the working population and medical tourists in the area. Market observers expect neighbouring Lakeside to benefit from the new lease of life in the area.

Ms Elaine Chow, executive director of research at Chesterton Singapore, said: "There is no denying the potential for capital and rental growth in the medium to long term. Jurong Gateway is currently a bustling regional centre.

"It is only set to grow bigger, more vibrant and dynamic as a commercial and medical hub with the completion of Westgate, Big Box and the Genting Hotel, a 700-bed Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and 400-bed Jurong Community Hospital."

She added that home prices and rents in Lakeside are likely to remain stable in the next two years, "as fundamentals of a new work-play district are just being put in place".

Buyers flocked to the launch of The Lakefront Residences in Lakeside Drive when it went on the market in 2010. The 629-unit project was sold out at a median price of $1,000 to $1,050 per sq ft (psf).

However, data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed that units were sold on the secondary market for a median price of $1,199 psf in the first quarter.

Median prices of The Lakeshore in Jurong West Street 51 were $1,055 psf, while Lakeholmz in Corporation Road sold units for a median price of $1,050 psf.

"The Lakeshore and Lakeholmz saw very encouraging price increases last year," said Mr Ong Kah Seng, director of R'ST Research. "The Lakeshore's prices increased by about 8 per cent last year, whereas Lakeholmz's prices increased about 12 per cent last year."

The latest private residential project to hit Lakeside will be MCL Land's Lakeville in Jurong West Street 41. The 99-year leasehold development will feature one- to five-bedroom units ranging from 560 to 2,517 sq ft. Experts expect prices at the launch to fall between $1,250 and $1,350 psf.

However, the project is likely to attract demand from upgraders living in surrounding Housing Board flats, much like The Lakefront Residences, and investors might be less keen owing to its far-flung location, noted Mr Ong.

"Given the subdued residential market and availability of alternative investment options in the city fringe, which are priced around $1,200 to $1,500 psf, it would require more time and further development works for the focus of investors to shift to Lakeside," Ms Chow pointed out.

But Mr Eric Cheng, group chief executive of property agency ECG Holdings said rental demand could still emerge as more jobs are created with the construction of more offices, hotels and hospitals.

"However, in the current market, those who wish to enter would still need to take into consideration the Total Debt Servicing Ratio, which remains the main factor holding buyers back," he said. "Nevertheless, there are still qualified buyers and investors waiting for the chance to grab a good deal at an attractive price in this current market."

31 female this year.
Single.
Salary: 8K a month
Bonus: 10-15% bonus depending on how coy performs.

Not too sure when earnings will taper. Probably when if I have kids.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

31 female this year.
Single.
Salary: 8K a month
Bonus: 10-15% bonus depending on how coy performs.

Not too sure when earnings will taper. Probably when if I have kids.

That's pretty high for a 31 yo. When do you plan to have kids?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

31 female this year.
Single.
Salary: 8K a month
Bonus: 10-15% bonus depending on how coy performs.

Not too sure when earnings will taper. Probably when if I have kids.

Hi, are you working in a SME or MNC? Local or foreign?

The latest batch of HDB BTO launch indicates that a 4 room flat costs only $200k plus. This is very cheap. Some forumers who claim to earn $470k pa or $700k pa can simply buy these in cash from their one year salary. I don't understand why people complaint property is expensive. $200k plus for a 4 room flat is very cheap what.

Even for the low income group, if a couple earns $2000 pm each, their monthly income is $4000. I'm sure they can afford easily the monthly mortgage payments for a $200k plus BTO flat.

You are either a foreigner or a young person who did not know the housing policies, cooling measures and what not that the gahmen has imposed on property ownership here.

Another thing you revealed about yourself is that you probably haven't started working or just starting off. If you understood Maslow's hierarchy of needs, you will know that smaller HDB flats (the new 4 room flats and below) will satisfy only the basic needs. As people become wealthier they want to upgrade their quality of life. This desire to want to improve their station in life provides the motivation to people to work harder and earn more.

People with $470k and $700k income pa are already high up in the hierarchy of needs. They are seeking something else, not things to satisfy their basic housing needs. Their main concern would be to build up robust and persistent passive income streams that will enable them to retire in comfort. And if not for the gahmen housing policies and rules, yes these wealthier people would go and buy the HDB flats big and small - not to live in them but to rent them out for passive incomes! Some lucky ones managed to do this before the gahmen imposed the rules blocking out private property owners from buying HDB flats whether new or resale. The result is that these private property owners ended buying more private properties.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The latest batch of HDB BTO launch indicates that a 4 room flat costs only $200k plus. This is very cheap. Some forumers who claim to earn $470k pa or $700k pa can simply buy these in cash from their one year salary. I don't understand why people complaint property is expensive. $200k plus for a 4 room flat is very cheap what.

Even for the low income group, if a couple earns $2000 pm each, their monthly income is $4000. I'm sure they can afford easily the monthly mortgage payments for a $200k plus BTO flat.