How much are you earning per annum?

First and foremost, I would like to personally congratulate you on your success and achievements. You have done well as a couple. You live in a condo, this puts you among the top 15% of Sporean households who are living in private properties. 85% of Singaporeans live in public housing. So you are among the top people.

Your retirement plan is good. Your passive income will be $4,400 per month, this is more than enough for an old couple. If you have kids, they will likely give you an allowance of at least $500 per kid ($250 to you and $250 to your wife). So your passive income will be $5,400 per month if you have two kids.

When you reach 65, your condo will be paid up and the value will grow to $1m plus.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Mid income couple, 47 & 48, total salary combined $120k pa. Bought a resale EC for $700k after selling our HDB flat. Still servicing loan of $300k. Owns a 5 year old Jap car, still servicing loan of $50k. Our assets are: the EC, CPF money and some cash. Our total net worth now is $900k.

Our retirement plan at 65 is to get income from our CPF Life, $1200 pm each. We will also rent out our 2 common rooms for $1000 for each room. So, as a couple our passive income is expected to be $4,400 pm. We don't plan to employ a maid and will not have a car anymore as we don't need a car by then since we will not be travelling much. We will buy our groceries online which offers free delivery service.

Any comments on our plans above from the smart rich gurus here?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

First and foremost, I would like to personally congratulate you on your success and achievements. You have done well as a couple. You live in a condo, this puts you among the top 15% of Sporean households who are living in private properties. 85% of Singaporeans live in public housing. So you are among the top people.

Your retirement plan is good. Your passive income will be $4,400 per month, this is more than enough for an old couple. If you have kids, they will likely give you an allowance of at least $500 per kid ($250 to you and $250 to your wife). So your passive income will be $5,400 per month if you have two kids.

When you reach 65, your condo will be paid up and the value will grow to $1m plus.

The "this puts you among the top 15%....." guy strikes again..

LOL,

These are the recurring themes:

1. Made it big, retired at 48 / 50. Wife younger still working. Passive income can cover expenses with some buffer. Working out in Gym, and doing charitable deeds. Dont be wage slave

<<Usually above post will trigger another recurring one: Your story inspiring. Most successful here>>

2. Age 38/39, 48/49, etc... earning such and such. Can retire or not? Or how to retire?

3. Easy to retire in Thailand, M'sia and what have you.

4. Downgrade to HDB studio, invest rest of money to get 4%, 5% returns ($40K, $50k pa).

5. Work as long as you can. Beware of inflation, need $m to retire comfortably.

But some of the posts are enlightening.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The "this puts you among the top 15%....." guy strikes again..

I'm a senior partner at one of the major law firms. Earning over $3M p.a.

I make an annual income of $55k pa, saves $17k pa. Spending $38k pa.
Wife makes an annual income of $50k pa, saves $20k pa. Spending $30k pa.
Total income, $105k pa. Total spending, $68k pa. Total saving, $37k pa.
In 20 years time, our new savings will be $740k.
Our flat is now worth $700k. In 20 years time, it will be $900k and it will be paid up.
In 20 years time our net worth will be = $740k + $900k + $400k = $1.24 mil.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I make an annual income of $55k pa, saves $17k pa. Spending $38k pa.
Wife makes an annual income of $50k pa, saves $20k pa. Spending $30k pa.
Total income, $105k pa. Total spending, $68k pa. Total saving, $37k pa.
In 20 years time, our new savings will be $740k.
Our flat is now worth $700k. In 20 years time, it will be $900k and it will be paid up.
In 20 years time our net worth will be = $740k + $900k + $400k = $1.24 mil.

Sorry, it should be $2.04m.

We will be a millionaire retired couple in 20 years time. So exciting.

Reading through the valuable gems from this thread, here are the summary of some retirement strategies:

1. Top up CPF SA so that you can enjoy the 4% risk free return early. If you are in your early 30s and you already have reached the min sum of $155k today, by the time you are 55, your CPF SA account will be a lot. Then when you are 65, you can collect lots of money every month until you die.

2. Downgrade to a smaller, cheaper home when you retire. You can sell your bungalow and downgrade to a smallish 2,000 sq ft condo penthouse. You then invest the rest of your cash in blue chips to give you 5% dividend yield returns. If you invest a modest $5m cash, you will get $250k pa, which is enough for you and your wife to enjoy a decent middle class retirement lifestyle.

3. Rent out your rooms in your HDB flat. If you rent out your room for $1000 per room, you will get an extra $2000 per month of passive income.

4. You do a lease buyback of your 4 or 3 room flats. You get an extra $500 - $700 per month.

5. Retire overseas. If you can generate $3k per month from your assets, you can retire in style in Chiang Mai, Thailand or in Ipoh, Malaysia. You can rent out your Queenstown flat for $4000 per month and convert to RM to get RM10,000 every month. This is a lot since you can rent a condo in Ipoh for RM1,000 per month. A 2nd hand car costs only RM10,000. With $3k per month, you can retire like a tycoon in Thailand, you can employ two maids and a gardener.

6. You can rent out your flat and live with your kids. Tell them to take care of you and you will bequeath to them your flat. You can also take care of your grandkids and enjoy their company.

So, there are many ways to retire, you just need to open your minds and don't be those who can't even retire with millions in their banks.

The problem with retirement (for singaporeans), to be honest, is not going to be money..

It is the social constraints that prevent people from retiring comfortably.

Eg if one is an orphan and not married, then anywhere is possible.
If one has a spouse, has to make sure that he/she thinks the same as you do.
If one has children, they may need you to do grand parenting.
If one has a special needs child/adult, will be tied down to singapore cos believe it or not, singapore has some ok Day Actitvity Centres.
If one is sickly, one has to be near good medical facilities.

So the secret to comfortable retirement is to have no social constraints, not money..

It's a real pity you missed the most valuable gems of all. It's about living a fulfilling and meaningful life. It's not about blindly stretching your dollars by downgrading your home, moving to a third world country and living a directionless life, or sacrificing your privacy with strangers living in your home to earn that few dollars rent.

Living a fulfilling life for some could mean doing charitable work, for others it could be working and doing what they do best and enjoy. Earning a salary would be an added bonus for them as they would be financially well off already. Examples are aplenty of successful people working well past their retirement age. Why? Because they enjoy their work, and they find fulfillment from it.

The worst thing a person could do to himself is to retire without knowing what to do with his time and without adequate finances. There is only so much you can downgrade to, before you realise the foolishness of it all. Once you retire, (especially prematurely) you are wasting the greatest asset you ever had to generate income. That asset is yourself.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Reading through the valuable gems from this thread, here are the summary of some retirement strategies:

1. Top up CPF SA so that you can enjoy the 4% risk free return early. If you are in your early 30s and you already have reached the min sum of $155k today, by the time you are 55, your CPF SA account will be a lot. Then when you are 65, you can collect lots of money every month until you die.

2. Downgrade to a smaller, cheaper home when you retire. You can sell your bungalow and downgrade to a smallish 2,000 sq ft condo penthouse. You then invest the rest of your cash in blue chips to give you 5% dividend yield returns. If you invest a modest $5m cash, you will get $250k pa, which is enough for you and your wife to enjoy a decent middle class retirement lifestyle.

3. Rent out your rooms in your HDB flat. If you rent out your room for $1000 per room, you will get an extra $2000 per month of passive income.

4. You do a lease buyback of your 4 or 3 room flats. You get an extra $500 - $700 per month.

5. Retire overseas. If you can generate $3k per month from your assets, you can retire in style in Chiang Mai, Thailand or in Ipoh, Malaysia. You can rent out your Queenstown flat for $4000 per month and convert to RM to get RM10,000 every month. This is a lot since you can rent a condo in Ipoh for RM1,000 per month. A 2nd hand car costs only RM10,000. With $3k per month, you can retire like a tycoon in Thailand, you can employ two maids and a gardener.

6. You can rent out your flat and live with your kids. Tell them to take care of you and you will bequeath to them your flat. You can also take care of your grandkids and enjoy their company.

So, there are many ways to retire, you just need to open your minds and don't be those who can't even retire with millions in their banks.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The problem with retirement (for singaporeans), to be honest, is not going to be money..

It is the social constraints that prevent people from retiring comfortably.

Eg if one is an orphan and not married, then anywhere is possible.
If one has a spouse, has to make sure that he/she thinks the same as you do.
If one has children, they may need you to do grand parenting.
If one has a special needs child/adult, will be tied down to singapore cos believe it or not, singapore has some ok Day Actitvity Centres.
If one is sickly, one has to be near good medical facilities.

So the secret to comfortable retirement is to have no social constraints, not money..

This is an interesting observation. It's not just how much you need to live comfortably on your own but also about expectations and obligations.