How much are you earning per annum?

Lol, anything planned 30 years ago (day 1 of working) ought to have been reviewed and updated many times along the way, not least to adjust for inflation. Our $5.5m target was set only when in late forties, when we saw that we were able to save close to $300k pa. Our so called day 1 of working (over 30 years ago) savings target was a mere $1.5m! In those days, if you have $1m, you are there! Nowadays, you don't have hear of anyone daring to say they will retire with just $1m.

As to your question when is the best time to retire, the answer is 62, the official retirement age. This means that your company better has a good reason to remove you before that!

One last thing, friends in my cohort who retired earlier are coming back out to work. I hope for their sake it was not because of money issue, but because of boredom. So talk to those of your cohort who retired already and ask how they pass their time.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Agree that the work stress is a lot reduced knowing we can stop anytime. However, i also realized that there is never a good time to stop, there is always another year or another month. 57 or perhaps 60, will certainly look attractive for all the reasons you have stated. It will never end, why stop at 5m, why not make it 7 or even 8m by working to 65?

I started planning since day 1 of working and with good luck, I have already far exceeded my plan. So I have made up my mind to work for 1 more year and it will be it. I am still very health so I am quitting while I still can do things I enjoy. I guess it is a personal choice. Anyway, thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Agree that the work stress is a lot reduced knowing we can stop anytime. However, i also realized that there is never a good time to stop, there is always another year or another month. 57 or perhaps 60, will certainly look attractive for all the reasons you have stated. It will never end, why stop at 5m, why not make it 7 or even 8m by working to 65?

I started planning since day 1 of working and with good luck, I have already far exceeded my plan. So I have made up my mind to work for 1 more year and it will be it. I am still very health so I am quitting while I still can do things I enjoy. I guess it is a personal choice. Anyway, thanks for sharing.

I share your sentiments. I retired two years ago at the age of 50. At that time, the mortgage to my penthouse was cleared and I have no other loans. Debt free. We manage to live a decent life, neither a spendthrift nor a miser. We still donate regularly to charity. Now our passive income is more than our expenses and despite retiring, our savings and investments are growing nicely.

We spend a lot of time reading and doing charity work, not forgetting exercising regularly. How much is enough for retirement? No amount of money will be enough if you don't plan your finances well. As long as your annual passive income is more than 30% of your annual expenses, you are ok.

Thanks for reminding me. The other criterion for deciding if you are financially ready to retire is whether your passive income is adequate to cover your expenses and have buffer to account for the ever increasing inflation. In this case, the absolute savings amount is immaterial. In other words if you could generate say, $200k pa passive income with $2m, you are definitely better off than the guy who generates $120k pa passive income from $5m.

The two targets we set were:
1. Passive income = earned income. This is a very lofty target. Only a rare few can achieve this.
2. Passive income = expenses + buffer. This is an easier target for most professionals.

As we are already passed 55, we know there is no way we were ever going to achieve the first target of having our passive income replacing our earned income.

Ok, that's the financial part of retirement planning. The other part is on how to occupy your time while in retirement. Many pre-retirees thought they will have lots of things to do to occupy their time, but many ended up finishing those things within a year of retirement. And then boredom sets in, and worse still, their minds start slowing down.

Finally I want to say that another round of high inflation is coming. The gahmen's recent announcement that the remuneration of nurses, home team officers and others will be adjusted upwards is a prelude to a host of upwards price adjustments. So make sure that passive income buffer is a big one.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I share your sentiments. I retired two years ago at the age of 50. At that time, the mortgage to my penthouse was cleared and I have no other loans. Debt free. We manage to live a decent life, neither a spendthrift nor a miser. We still donate regularly to charity. Now our passive income is more than our expenses and despite retiring, our savings and investments are growing nicely.

We spend a lot of time reading and doing charity work, not forgetting exercising regularly. How much is enough for retirement? No amount of money will be enough if you don't plan your finances well. As long as your annual passive income is more than 30% of your annual expenses, you are ok.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Lol, anything planned 30 years ago (day 1 of working) ought to have been reviewed and updated many times along the way, not least to adjust for inflation. Our $5.5m target was set only when in late forties, when we saw that we were able to save close to $300k pa. Our so called day 1 of working (over 30 years ago) savings target was a mere $1.5m! In those days, if you have $1m, you are there! Nowadays, you don't have hear of anyone daring to say they will retire with just $1m.

As to your question when is the best time to retire, the answer is 62, the official retirement age. This means that your company better has a good reason to remove you before that!

One last thing, friends in my cohort who retired earlier are coming back out to work. I hope for their sake it was not because of money issue, but because of boredom. So talk to those of your cohort who retired already and ask how they pass their time.

Well I also have friends who have many health issues or worked to their death before 62. Which brings us back to the current debate about money vs health. So thanks but no thanks.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for reminding me. The other criterion for deciding if you are financially ready to retire is whether your passive income is adequate to cover your expenses and have buffer to account for the ever increasing inflation. In this case, the absolute savings amount is immaterial. In other words if you could generate say, $200k pa passive income with $2m, you are definitely better off than the guy who generates $120k pa passive income from $5m.

The two targets we set were:
1. Passive income = earned income. This is a very lofty target. Only a rare few can achieve this.
2. Passive income = expenses + buffer. This is an easier target for most professionals.

As we are already passed 55, we know there is no way we were ever going to achieve the first target of having our passive income replacing our earned income.

Ok, that's the financial part of retirement planning. The other part is on how to occupy your time while in retirement. Many pre-retirees thought they will have lots of things to do to occupy their time, but many ended up finishing those things within a year of retirement. And then boredom sets in, and worse still, their minds start slowing down.

Finally I want to say that another round of high inflation is coming. The gahmen's recent announcement that the remuneration of nurses, home team officers and others will be adjusted upwards is a prelude to a host of upwards price adjustments. So make sure that passive income buffer is a big one.

LOL, inflation will always be there. So every time our nurses get pay hike, we have to work a couple of more years.

No need to thank me.

That's the irony I was talking about. Retire early and you will need more money. Retire late and you will need less. We all don't want to be caught in a situation where we find to our dismay that the money is not enough and then having to go back to work.

While you have friends who worked to their deaths before 62 or who had health issues, I also see many people in their 60s still working. The sad part is that they are working in low paying jobs, having to come out retirement to work.

Anyway, our gahmen can't be wrong when they tell people to work as long as they can. They have the statistics and also from the MPS feedback from their constituents. Many people are realizing their retirement funds are inadequate - too late!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Well I also have friends who have many health issues or worked to their death before 62. Which brings us back to the current debate about money vs health. So thanks but no thanks.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

No need to thank me.

That's the irony I was talking about. Retire early and you will need more money. Retire late and you will need less. We all don't want to be caught in a situation where we find to our dismay that the money is not enough and then having to go back to work.

While you have friends who worked to their deaths before 62 or who had health issues, I also see many people in their 60s still working. The sad part is that they are working in low paying jobs, having to come out retirement to work.

Anyway, our gahmen can't be wrong when they tell people to work as long as they can. They have the statistics and also from the MPS feedback from their constituents. Many people are realizing their retirement funds are inadequate - too late!

That is why we plan for retirement, doh!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I don't think you will retire anytime soon if you review your thoughts (thinking twice) as I did.

I originally aimed to retire when I reached 55, but my view changed when I attained 2 things upon reaching 55. One is attaining our targeted networth of $5.5m and a passive income of $120k pa.

Somehow, the mere knowledge that you could walk away from your job anytime you want without fear of financial inadequacy removes a lot of stress. You start to view work differently. You no longer see work as a means to a livelihood, in other words, you are no longer a wage slave.

Secondly together with the passive income, we were raking in a total of $0.5m a year. This is beyond our wildest dream as both of us came from humble background. Like you, our children have also grown up reducing our expenses on them enabling us to save close to $400k last year - our highest by far. The few years earlier, we were consistently saving above $300k pa.

Like someone posted, the last stretch is the most "productive" in terms of savings. Why stop just when it is getting better?

And the ironic thing is, the earlier you retire, the more money you will need (more years in retirement). The later you you retire, the less money you will need.

If your reason of continuing to work is that you enjoy your work and still want to contribute, then it is another matter. But if the aim is just to amass more wealth when you already have 5.5M, 1.2kpa passive income is pure greed.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

As to your question when is the best time to retire, the answer is 62, the official retirement age. This means that your company better has a good reason to remove you before that!

62? ....Letting the official age to decide your retirement? Be real, the official hope you will never retire if they can, that is the fact, LKY want you to work till your last day, and he believe you will be very happy to work till your last day. If you only to live up to 61, than just too bad lor, it is your fault as you don’t know how to take good care of your health…

Average middle income couple, 43 & 47, earning $10k pm in total. Saves $2k pm. Lives in a 4 room flat, no more loan. Owns a small car. 3 children. Our asset is mainly our flat which is worth $450k. Our other assets are our CPF savings, some stocks and cash, all worth $400k. Can anyone advise how we can prepare for retirement? How long more do we need to work?