How much are you earning per annum?

Reading the below report in detail, it seems inconsistent with the title "Growth of household wealth hits a snag". Other than the impact of US dollar exchange rate with the SGD, the article pointed to increasing growth both in terms value and number high net worth individuals and household -- "Findings also showed that the number of millionaires (in US currency) in Singapore is projected to rise by 50 per cent in the next five years to reach 212,000 in 2020, from the current 142,000."

What I can see and say is that with increasing wealth, and the number of high networth household in Singapore, it will get costlier and costlier to retire here. Worse for those already retired (young) and without planning for inflationary effects in their retirement funds.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Growth of household wealth hits a snag: Credit Suisse

Thursday, Oct 15, 2015
Claire Huang
The Business Times

Singapore - HOUSEHOLD wealth per adult in Singapore had grown strongly from 2001 to 2012, but this upward trajectory has since plateaued in domestic currency units and declined in terms of the greenback, due to adverse exchange rate movements last year.

The trend is in line with Credit Suisse Research Institute's finding that the size and wealth of the middle class globally grew quickly before the financial crisis, but the growth subsided after 2007.

Its sixth annual global wealth report said rising inequality also put pressure on the share of wealth of the middle class in every region.

Total household wealth here at existing US dollar terms fell 5.8 per cent to US$1 trillion, from mid-2014 to mid-2015, but it rose by 1.8 per cent in domestic currency terms.

Even as household wealth per adult in Singapore hit a snag in recent years, average wealth per adult has risen 140 per cent to US$269,400 in mid-2015, compared with US$112,800 in 2000.

Most of the rise is linked to high savings and asset price movements from 2005 to 2012, the report said.

Singapore is now ranked eighth globally in terms of personal wealth per adult - the highest of all countries in Asia and well ahead of Hong Kong.

On a wealth-per-adult basis, Switzerland remains the richest nation in the world with US$567,100 in 2015, followed by New Zealand (US$400,800) and Australia (US$364,900).

Between 2000 and 2015, wealth in Singapore grew at an average annual rate of 6.2 per cent, in line with higher gross domestic product per capita growth over the same period, findings showed.

In terms of median wealth per adult, Singapore is ranked seventh in the world at US$98,900, beating Japan, which is in the eighth spot at US$96,100. New Zealand and Australia are the two highest in the world at US$182,600 and US$168,300 respectively.

Financial assets constitute 54 per cent of total household assets in Singapore, similar to that of Switzerland and the United Kingdom, said Credit Suisse, adding that the average debt of US$54,600 in Singapore is moderate for a high-wealth country as it equates to 17 per cent of total assets.

As for distribution of wealth here, the report said "Singapore shows only moderate inequality".

"Just 10 per cent of its people have wealth below US$10,000, versus 71 per cent for the world as a whole. The number with wealth above US$100,000 is six times the global average. Reflecting its very high average wealth rather than high inequality, 5 per cent of its adults or 205,000 individuals are in the top 1 per cent of global wealth holders, while its adult population accounts for just 0.1 per cent of the world total," it added.

As with many developed economies, Singapore has a high percentage of adults in the middle class at 62 per cent, owning US$334 billion of wealth or 31 per cent of the country's total.

Findings also showed that the number of millionaires (in US currency) in Singapore is projected to rise by 50 per cent in the next five years to reach 212,000 in 2020, from the current 142,000.

There are an estimated 752 ultra-high-net-worth individuals in Singapore with more than US$50 million net wealth.

Michael O'Sullivan, chief investment officer for the UK & EEMEA, private banking and wealth management at Credit Suisse, said: "Going forward, we expect the global economy to accelerate slightly, with the Chinese economy stabilising as it makes a transition towards consumption and services. Against this backdrop, wealth is set to continue its upward trajectory and could grow at an annual rate of 6.6 per cent (including inflation), reaching US$345 trillion in 2020."

You don't have to worry about those who retire young in their late 40s or early 50s. These are usually the top bankers, lawyers, executives and businessmen who have already made it big. They are probably happily retired in their big GCBs and debt free. We just have to worry about ourselves, who are just the typical salaried workers. Maybe we will have to retire in our 70s.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Reading the below report in detail, it seems inconsistent with the title "Growth of household wealth hits a snag". Other than the impact of US dollar exchange rate with the SGD, the article pointed to increasing growth both in terms value and number high net worth individuals and household -- "Findings also showed that the number of millionaires (in US currency) in Singapore is projected to rise by 50 per cent in the next five years to reach 212,000 in 2020, from the current 142,000."

What I can see and say is that with increasing wealth, and the number of high networth household in Singapore, it will get costlier and costlier to retire here. Worse for those already retired (young) and without planning for inflationary effects in their retirement funds.

How big did they make it?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You don't have to worry about those who retire young in their late 40s or early 50s. These are usually the top bankers, lawyers, executives and businessmen who have already made it big. They are probably happily retired in their big GCBs and debt free. We just have to worry about ourselves, who are just the typical salaried workers. Maybe we will have to retire in our 70s.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am not sure how to read the situation this time around. Last time (08/09) the world economy was in a tail spin. Almost every economy was contracting badly then. There was many retrenchment too. Now, the US economy is growing, that's why they raised the interest rate. Question is will the US economy be able to pull up the rest of the world or at least Singapore economy?

If the improving US economy leads to increased demands for our exports and thus economic growth for us, then property and COE prices may not go down as much.

What I do know is that there will be inflation. Already the 2 new private bus companies are agressively hiring bus drivers and others causing SMRT and SBS to offer better incentives to recruit and keep their drivers. Higher fares will be coming soon. And with higher fares, the cost of other goods and services would also go up.

There are projects where government listened to so called expert to expand logistics, boom commodity prices, expand expand etc. honestly, you will see these experts especially the snake charmer and the good presenter from the west oversold themselves. We will see what history they write in next 2 years - now till 2017. When credit crunch all comes to stand still we will see big investment like jurong aromatics corporation goes into receivership because of bad decision makers

I don't plan to retire in my 70s. I may not even live that long. I would rather plan to retire as soon as I can. As long as I can retire well in my condo, have enough to eat and have cleared all my loans, I am happy. I think I can retire by 57. What about you?

What are your finances like? How much "spending money" (exclude your home) have you saved up? And how long do you expect to live, up to 65? Are you single?

Some simple maths (without inflation):

Spend $50k pa, 10 years in retirement, need $500k savings. 20 years need $1m

Spend $80k pa, 10 years need $800k, 20 years need $1.6m

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I don't plan to retire in my 70s. I may not even live that long. I would rather plan to retire as soon as I can. As long as I can retire well in my condo, have enough to eat and have cleared all my loans, I am happy. I think I can retire by 57. What about you?

I plan to retire in KL, where I have close relatives. By the time I am 57, I envisage my children to be working, married and living in their own BTO flats. My spouse and I will rent out our paid up Singapore condo for S$3500 pm. We will also have stocks dividend income of S$1500 pm. Total passive income will be S$5000 pm. I can get RM15,000 pm based on S$1=RM3.

Expenses in KL
- Renting a 3 bedroom luxury condo RM3k pm
- Car, paid in full cash RM50k (S$17k).
- Petrol, maintenance, road tax, etc RM1k pm
- Food, groceries, utilities, eating out RM2k pm
- Entertainment, misc RM1k pm
Total expenses RM7k pm
Total savings RM8k pm

When we reach 65, we will have additional passive income of S$3.6k pm from CPF Life for us to save.

We will enjoy a good retirement.

A dream based on a lot of "Ifs".

It is always safer to plan based on solid cash or investment. Nothing like having cold hard cash in your hands & CPF

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I plan to retire in KL, where I have close relatives. By the time I am 57, I envisage my children to be working, married and living in their own BTO flats. My spouse and I will rent out our paid up Singapore condo for S$3500 pm. We will also have stocks dividend income of S$1500 pm. Total passive income will be S$5000 pm. I can get RM15,000 pm based on S$1=RM3.

Expenses in KL
- Renting a 3 bedroom luxury condo RM3k pm
- Car, paid in full cash RM50k (S$17k).
- Petrol, maintenance, road tax, etc RM1k pm
- Food, groceries, utilities, eating out RM2k pm
- Entertainment, misc RM1k pm
Total expenses RM7k pm
Total savings RM8k pm

When we reach 65, we will have additional passive income of S$3.6k pm from CPF Life for us to save.

We will enjoy a good retirement.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

A dream based on a lot of "Ifs".

It is always safer to plan based on solid cash or investment. Nothing like having cold hard cash in your hands & CPF

There are no IFs. My children will be all grown up by the time I'm 57. They will have to get their own homes. They cannot always be dependent on you. My condo is near an MRT station so no problem renting it out. My stocks are blue chips with good history of giving dividends. My planning is clear.

For reality check, how old are your children now and how old will they be when you are 57?

To be able to register for their BTOs, they must first get married or are engaged
Then they will probably have to wait three years to get their keys.
But before all this, they must have jobs and with sufficient savings

Originally Posted by Unregistered

There are no IFs. My children will be all grown up by the time I'm 57. They will have to get their own homes. They cannot always be dependent on you. My condo is near an MRT station so no problem renting it out. My stocks are blue chips with good history of giving dividends. My planning is clear.