How much are you earning per annum?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I supposed you will also be surprised if someone in his mid 50s says he has $1m in his CPF (combined total of OA, SA and MA)?

I can assure you it is entirely possible.

Yes, it is possible.

My SA is 198k. MA is 48.5k. The overflows from my MA goes to my OA. My OA is 80k.
Cpf tied with house fully paid is 250k.

44 yo

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It's true that CPF raytes fluctuate, but the calculations show that amassing over $200k in CPF over 10 years is achievable. Of course, starting salary of $5k is not common, but then the calculations have also not factored in bonuses and compound interest.

It is possible, my annual cpf contribution is 30k. Bonus also contibute cpf.

In the current policy, the maximum anyone can contribution to his CPF each year is $31,450. This amount includes the employer's portion.

The maximum amount of salary that attracts CPF deduction/contribution is $85,000. So even if your annual salary plus bonus exceeds $85,000 the CPF deduction/contribution is based on $85,000.

Consider two persons A & B same age below 50.
Say Person A earns $60K pa and his bonus is $25k giving a total of $85,000 he will contribute $31,450 to his CPF

Person B earns $200k pa inclusive bonus, he will also only contribute $31,450 to his CPF.

If you earn less than $85k pa, you are allowed to top up your CPF to $31,450 per year.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It is possible, my annual cpf contribution is 30k. Bonus also contibute cpf.

[lazyplane]

You are referring to income earned.

You forget that individual can do self top up of 7k to SA.

Add that in and plus interest...equals BIG FAT POT OF GOLD.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

In the current policy, the maximum anyone can contribution to his CPF each year is $31,450. This amount includes the employer's portion.

The maximum amount of salary that attracts CPF deduction/contribution is $85,000. So even if your annual salary plus bonus exceeds $85,000 the CPF deduction/contribution is based on $85,000.

Consider two persons A & B same age below 50.
Say Person A earns $60K pa and his bonus is $25k giving a total of $85,000 he will contribute $31,450 to his CPF

Person B earns $200k pa inclusive bonus, he will also only contribute $31,450 to his CPF.

If you earn less than $85k pa, you are allowed to top up your CPF to $31,450 per year.

3.4k/month
2 years exp
starting pay 2.7k
local u grad, male + ns
just started new role in IT project management

how am i doing? good prospect for IT PM or PM in general for the next 10 years?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

3.4k/month
2 years exp
starting pay 2.7k
local u grad, male + ns
just started new role in IT project management

how am i doing? good prospect for IT PM or PM in general for the next 10 years?

Yes prospects are good if you perform well

I have been in IT for over 15 years:

First 3 years and 1 promotion: $50K annual base
Next 4 years and 1 promotion: $100K annual base
After 8 years and 2 promotions: $240K annual base

All these comparisons of earnings are meaningless. If you think you're rich, there will always be someone richer than you. To be happy, just think about those who earn less than you. Live within your means. If you can't afford a condo, be happy with a hdb flat. If you can't afford a 4 room hdb flat, be happy with a 3 room hdb flat. If you can't afford a 3 room hdb flat, be happy with a 2 room hdb flat. If you can't afford a bungalow, be happy with a terrace.

At the end of the day, we will all die. We can die at any time, 20,30, 40, 50, 60, 70? Don't be greedy with this world. This world is just an illusion. The more you seek, the more you want. It will never end. Happiness is in your heart. No one have the right to tell you that you can only be happy if you are rich. Many rich people are not happy and many no so rich people are happy. Those of you who want to retire early, just go for it if you're financially independent. As long as your passive income is more than your expenses, you are ok. You don't need to have millions to retire.

Live a meaningful life. Care for others. Make the world a better place. Feed the poor and ophans. Care for the aged and the homeless. True happiness is when you make a positive difference to the world. If the world mourn your death, you have then led a meaningful life.

Your first two statements contradicted each other. If you don't compare how would you know someone else earns less than you?

The point should be, happiness is not only dependent on wealth, and wealth is not only money. Happiness depends on a lot more things like a happy family, good relationship with friends, neighbors, good health, talents, and contribution to society. Wealth is not just about money because if you don't have good health, wealth itself is not meaningful. This point is brought up clearly in this Saturday's Straits Times about a boy who was awarded $1.64m because of an accident that left him a vegetable.

Yes, we will all die one day, but what is important is what we achieved during our lifetime. For the vast majority of people who are ordinary, the most tangible achievement are in material acquisitions. That means the wealth one can accumulate. Today's society tends to reward people for their talents, hard work and skills. So it is inevitable that people measure and compare their achievements in life through the wealth they accumulate.

I don't see such comparisons as bad. It is a way for people to know where they stand compared to others. It is good if it makes them strive to better themselves. It becomes bad only when people start feeling inferior, insecure, stressed and worse of all, jealous.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

All these comparisons of earnings are meaningless. If you think you're rich, there will always be someone richer than you. To be happy, just think about those who earn less than you. Live within your means. If you can't afford a condo, be happy with a hdb flat. If you can't afford a 4 room hdb flat, be happy with a 3 room hdb flat. If you can't afford a 3 room hdb flat, be happy with a 2 room hdb flat. If you can't afford a bungalow, be happy with a terrace.

At the end of the day, we will all die. We can die at any time, 20,30, 40, 50, 60, 70? Don't be greedy with this world. This world is just an illusion. The more you seek, the more you want. It will never end. Happiness is in your heart. No one have the right to tell you that you can only be happy if you are rich. Many rich people are not happy and many no so rich people are happy. Those of you who want to retire early, just go for it if you're financially independent. As long as your passive income is more than your expenses, you are ok. You don't need to have millions to retire.

Live a meaningful life. Care for others. Make the world a better place. Feed the poor and ophans. Care for the aged and the homeless. True happiness is when you make a positive difference to the world. If the world mourn your death, you have then led a meaningful life.

Totally agree with you. Short sighted humans are greedy. They want more and more. They are selfish. They use most of their time to accumulate more and more wealth, even though they already have millions. They don't bother about spending their time volunteering to help the old and destitute. They rather spend their free time meeting their fellow rich friends boasting about their wealth. It is the ordinary people who will go to homes of the poor to help clean their dirty and insect infested homes. Sad but true.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

All these comparisons of earnings are meaningless. If you think you're rich, there will always be someone richer than you. To be happy, just think about those who earn less than you. Live within your means. If you can't afford a condo, be happy with a hdb flat. If you can't afford a 4 room hdb flat, be happy with a 3 room hdb flat. If you can't afford a 3 room hdb flat, be happy with a 2 room hdb flat. If you can't afford a bungalow, be happy with a terrace.

At the end of the day, we will all die. We can die at any time, 20,30, 40, 50, 60, 70? Don't be greedy with this world. This world is just an illusion. The more you seek, the more you want. It will never end. Happiness is in your heart. No one have the right to tell you that you can only be happy if you are rich. Many rich people are not happy and many no so rich people are happy. Those of you who want to retire early, just go for it if you're financially independent. As long as your passive income is more than your expenses, you are ok. You don't need to have millions to retire.

Live a meaningful life. Care for others. Make the world a better place. Feed the poor and ophans. Care for the aged and the homeless. True happiness is when you make a positive difference to the world. If the world mourn your death, you have then led a meaningful life.

Projected Retirement Budget – Comfortable Scenario. Someone worked this out.

How much would a retiree truly need?
Let us imagine another hypothetical 54 year old, whom we call Mr Yeo, who hopes to retire next year when he hits 55. If he is fairly healthy, lives comfortably, drives, and has no outstanding home or vehicle loans, his projected living costs may look like this:

Car – $1,500 to $2,000 per month (for a modest Japanese sedan and includes vehicle loan payments, Road Tax, parking, ERP, fuel, insurance, repairs, and other costs). See Money Smart’s article here for the estimate.
Restaurant/Cafe – $600 per month (assuming 20 meals/drinks of about $30 each per month at restaurants, cafes, and bars)
Groceries – $300 per month (this is for all home-cooked meals)
Telco, Utilities and Conservancy Fees – $150 to $200 per month (broad band, mobile, electricity, water, conservancy fees)
Clothes and Accessories Shopping – $300 per month
Domestic Helper – $700 to $800 per month (includes levy and other living and sundry expenses like food, etc).
Healthcare and Medical – approx $80 to $100 per month (supplements, visits to GP, medicine, Chinese herbs, etc).
Personal Grooming – $50 to $100 per month (hair, facial, toiletries, creams etc)
Holiday Expenses – $500 per month (assuming $6,000 per year for one long haul trip of about $4,000, two short haul trips of about $1,000 each)
Gifts and Donations – $200 per month (assuming about $2,400 per year for Christmas/CNY/Hari Raya/Deepavali gifts, donations to charities, and offerings to religious institutions)
This works out to an estimated monthly budget of approximately $4,750 or so, excluding other miscellaneous expenses. If we assume that Mr Yeo lives till an average age of 85 years (Singapore’s life expectancy), the total amount needed could look like this:
Annual expenses (first year): $57,000
Expenses over 30 years: approx $1.71 million

Hang on a minute. We forgot to add something very important. Inflation!
If we assume a modest annual inflation rate of 1.8% (based on Singapore’s historical inflation rate of 1.83% over the past 30 years), the total would look like this:
Annual expenses (first year): $57,000
Expenses over 30 years (incl 1.8% annual inflation): approx $2.36 million

If we are talking about a retired couple (who share the car and domestic helper), their cumulative expenses over 30 years could easily rise to $3.5 million or more!

Bear in mind that while comfortable, the projections above are still fairly conservative. Mr Yeo’s vehicle expenses are based on a Corolla Altis and not a Mercedes, and his restaurant bills are on the low side.