How much are you earning per annum?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Don't worry.

For those retrenched ex-PMETs out there, such as ex-engineers and ex-bankers, do not be sad. Instead of worrying so much, you can just retire assuming you no longer have any dependents at age 55.

Good retirement plan in KL or Penang for a 55 years old retired couple.

Passive income
Rent out fully paid HDB flat S$2.5k pm or RM7.5k pm

KL or Penang cost of living
Rent a 2 bedroom condominium RM1.5k pm
Car expenses RM500 pm (assume buy used car in cash RM30k)
Food, groceries and utilities RM1.5k pm
Misc RM1k pm
Total spending RM4.5k pm
Savings RM3k pm

This retirement plan allows you to live in a condo and drive a car.

Your key retirement asset: HDB flat (we are very fortunate since we all get to buy cheap BTO HDB flats when we got married)

This kind of retirement plan assumes the retiree willing to give up staying in a country they have been brought up and lived in since they are born. Not easy. Very stressful to be in a foreign country. It is just like asking KL people to retire in Kampar or Sekinchan or ask them go Vietnam. OK for some but not OK for the majority of people.

My younger colleagues were complaining to me that in Singapore, both husband and wife have to work to ensure a reasonable quality of life, and save up for retirement. The reasonable quality of life to them means having a car, stay in a condo and have a maid to cook, do household chores and look after their young kids. Looking back when I was younger, I think many in my cohorts have wives who were housewives and we turn out quite ok, financially.

I look at 6 of my colleagues around my age group (in our 50s) to see what is the distribution like. Without knowing their networth, there seems to be no clear divide between dual vs single income, at least among those in my cohort.

Colleague A: Age 55, wife is housewife. Stay in exec HDB flat, no maid, 2 kids. Have a car.
Colleague B: Age 55, wife is giving tuition. Stay in condo, owns a 2nd condo. No maid. Have 3 kids and a car.
Colleague C: Age 54, wife is housewife, stays in condo, owns 2nd condo. 2 kids, a car but no maid.
Colleague D: Age 55, wife is part time teacher, stays in exec HDB flat. Have 3 kids, 1 car, but no maid.
Colleague E: Age 52, wife is working. Stays in exec HDB flat, have 2 kids, 1 car and maid.
Colleague F: Age 56, wife is housewife, stays in condo. Have 2 kids, 1 car and no maid.
Myself: Age 56, wife is working. Stays in condo, owns 2nd condo. Have 2 kids, 2 cars and a maid.

You can retire now since your children are grown up and already working. Let them be independent.

You don't need so much to retire. For a retired couple they will only need $4k pm assuming they have no liabilities. Your passive income of $120k pa can cover these expenses.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

My younger colleagues were complaining to me that in Singapore, both husband and wife have to work to ensure a reasonable quality of life, and save up for retirement. The reasonable quality of life to them means having a car, stay in a condo and have a maid to cook, do household chores and look after their young kids. Looking back when I was younger, I think many in my cohorts have wives who were housewives and we turn out quite ok, financially.

I look at 6 of my colleagues around my age group (in our 50s) to see what is the distribution like. Without knowing their networth, there seems to be no clear divide between dual vs single income, at least among those in my cohort.

Colleague A: Age 55, wife is housewife. Stay in exec HDB flat, no maid, 2 kids. Have a car.
Colleague B: Age 55, wife is giving tuition. Stay in condo, owns a 2nd condo. No maid. Have 3 kids and a car.
Colleague C: Age 54, wife is housewife, stays in condo, owns 2nd condo. 2 kids, a car but no maid.
Colleague D: Age 55, wife is part time teacher, stays in exec HDB flat. Have 3 kids, 1 car, but no maid.
Colleague E: Age 52, wife is working. Stays in exec HDB flat, have 2 kids, 1 car and maid.
Colleague F: Age 56, wife is housewife, stays in condo. Have 2 kids, 1 car and no maid.
Myself: Age 56, wife is working. Stays in condo, owns 2nd condo. Have 2 kids, 2 cars and a maid.

[lazyplane]

Ha ha.. You hit the nail on the head.

If we use our "EYES" to judge who is wealthy, i bet there is 75% chance we will get it wrong.

Many of those whom are really wealthy in 50 may still be queuing up and fighting with you for that famous bowl of bak chor mee.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

My younger colleagues were complaining to me that in Singapore, both husband and wife have to work to ensure a reasonable quality of life, and save up for retirement. The reasonable quality of life to them means having a car, stay in a condo and have a maid to cook, do household chores and look after their young kids. Looking back when I was younger, I think many in my cohorts have wives who were housewives and we turn out quite ok, financially.

I look at 6 of my colleagues around my age group (in our 50s) to see what is the distribution like. Without knowing their networth, there seems to be no clear divide between dual vs single income, at least among those in my cohort.

Colleague A: Age 55, wife is housewife. Stay in exec HDB flat, no maid, 2 kids. Have a car.
Colleague B: Age 55, wife is giving tuition. Stay in condo, owns a 2nd condo. No maid. Have 3 kids and a car.
Colleague C: Age 54, wife is housewife, stays in condo, owns 2nd condo. 2 kids, a car but no maid.
Colleague D: Age 55, wife is part time teacher, stays in exec HDB flat. Have 3 kids, 1 car, but no maid.
Colleague E: Age 52, wife is working. Stays in exec HDB flat, have 2 kids, 1 car and maid.
Colleague F: Age 56, wife is housewife, stays in condo. Have 2 kids, 1 car and no maid.
Myself: Age 56, wife is working. Stays in condo, owns 2nd condo. Have 2 kids, 2 cars and a maid.

The truly rich people are those who hearts are not trapped by excessive desires and lust.

Be happy and contented with what you have and you will be rich.

The first thing you must do is to get rid of all your debt. Second is to live below your means. If you are able to generate passive income which is more than your expenses, you are the richest person on earth. This is financial freedom.

If your desires and lust drive you to want more and more, you will never be satisfied. You will always feel poor. And you feel insecure. If you need to work long hours to earn a living so that you can pay the big mortgage because you choose to live in a big condo in the CCR, then who is to be blamed except yourself.

Be financial independent, you will feel rich, really rich.

Uncontrollable desires and lust will bring the downfall of man.

True richness is the richness of the soul.

Deep and profound post. Worth to take heed. Thank you for your sharing your wisdom, sir.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The truly rich people are those who hearts are not trapped by excessive desires and lust.

Be happy and contented with what you have and you will be rich.

The first thing you must do is to get rid of all your debt. Second is to live below your means. If you are able to generate passive income which is more than your expenses, you are the richest person on earth. This is financial freedom.

If your desires and lust drive you to want more and more, you will never be satisfied. You will always feel poor. And you feel insecure. If you need to work long hours to earn a living so that you can pay the big mortgage because you choose to live in a big condo in the CCR, then who is to be blamed except yourself.

Be financial independent, you will feel rich, really rich.

Uncontrollable desires and lust will bring the downfall of man.

True richness is the richness of the soul.

In the past, whenever we learnt of colleagues going for retirement (whether at retirement age or younger), we would be so happy for them and at the same time felt envious. This was especially so when the workload and stress level were high (push factor) and our children were young (pull factor) and we felt we were not spending enough time with them. During times like these, you will wish you can just retire, and spend time with your family and be free from the stress of work.

We were somewhat confused that as the time for those colleagues going into retirement came nearer, they seem hesitant and actually appear reluctant to leave. We, especially myself, were wondering why the sudden change of heart.

Now that I am 56, and my own retirement is within sight and am financially ready, I am beginning to understand how my retired colleagues must have felt when they were going into retirement. First, although the work stress was still there, but at our age, we are less affected by them because we are no longer fighting for promotion etc... Secondly, our children are grown up and some have even entered the workforce. So no need for so much of your time.

But I think the biggest factor was the fear of losing that monthly pay check that get credited into your bank account. Imagine, suddenly there is no more money coming in like clockwork every month. And no more bonuses at the end of each work year!

You will also have to accept that when you fall ill and visit a doctor, you will no longer be able to claim the payment from your company!

Retirement is not for everyone. Those who are financially strong, have high self confidence and have clear missions in life are the right candidates to retire from full time work. People like you should just continue working until your 70s or 80s.

Those ex high flying executives who have made their fortune and know what they want to do after retirement from full time work are the right people to retire. These people retire from full time work but go on to work at their own leisurely pace as business mentors or consultants. They are their own boss. Some of them who are good at trading in the markets devote their time to grow their wealth while enjoying passive income from their investments. These are the very intelligent type people. If you're not like them, better to continue working and be happy in your own comfort zone.

The more noble ones will semi retire, become business advisors and spend a lot of time at charities to help the poor, needy and destitutes. These are the gems in society, not many but there are selfless, noble people like this.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

In the past, whenever we learnt of colleagues going for retirement (whether at retirement age or younger), we would be so happy for them and at the same time felt envious. This was especially so when the workload and stress level were high (push factor) and our children were young (pull factor) and we felt we were not spending enough time with them. During times like these, you will wish you can just retire, and spend time with your family and be free from the stress of work.

We were somewhat confused that as the time for those colleagues going into retirement came nearer, they seem hesitant and actually appear reluctant to leave. We, especially myself, were wondering why the sudden change of heart.

Now that I am 56, and my own retirement is within sight and am financially ready, I am beginning to understand how my retired colleagues must have felt when they were going into retirement. First, although the work stress was still there, but at our age, we are less affected by them because we are no longer fighting for promotion etc... Secondly, our children are grown up and some have even entered the workforce. So no need for so much of your time.

But I think the biggest factor was the fear of losing that monthly pay check that get credited into your bank account. Imagine, suddenly there is no more money coming in like clockwork every month. And no more bonuses at the end of each work year!

You will also have to accept that when you fall ill and visit a doctor, you will no longer be able to claim the payment from your company!

I will have to say I agree with you on the monthly pay check aspect.

While retirement gives us back our time, we will also lose the income. At work, we trade our time for income, in retirement, we get back our time and forgo the income.

Question is whether we can use our time meaningfully and wisely and this decision has to be thought through carefully because going into retirement is the easy part, getting back to employment is the hard part.

Most important of all, make sure you have enough savings to sustain your retirement lifestyle.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

In the past, whenever we learnt of colleagues going for retirement (whether at retirement age or younger), we would be so happy for them and at the same time felt envious. This was especially so when the workload and stress level were high (push factor) and our children were young (pull factor) and we felt we were not spending enough time with them. During times like these, you will wish you can just retire, and spend time with your family and be free from the stress of work.

We were somewhat confused that as the time for those colleagues going into retirement came nearer, they seem hesitant and actually appear reluctant to leave. We, especially myself, were wondering why the sudden change of heart.

Now that I am 56, and my own retirement is within sight and am financially ready, I am beginning to understand how my retired colleagues must have felt when they were going into retirement. First, although the work stress was still there, but at our age, we are less affected by them because we are no longer fighting for promotion etc... Secondly, our children are grown up and some have even entered the workforce. So no need for so much of your time.

But I think the biggest factor was the fear of losing that monthly pay check that get credited into your bank account. Imagine, suddenly there is no more money coming in like clockwork every month. And no more bonuses at the end of each work year!

You will also have to accept that when you fall ill and visit a doctor, you will no longer be able to claim the payment from your company!

Something to think about.

I copied this post from a person who had to take care of her mother in her old age. Sobering thought on planning for our own retirement and long term medical care. Even if we dont have ageing parents to take care of, we should still plan for our own medical needs as we aged, lest we unnecessarily burden our children.

"What is the backup plan for those folks who are relying on keeping expenses low in retirement should their expenses rise due to factors beyond their control?
My primary example here is always health because I supported my mom through ten years of declining health and dementia. I kept my personal expenses bone cheap to afford it but her expenses rose into the five figures, at times, and that would have been incredibly hard to keep up with if I didn’t have the option (and energy!) to work nearly endless hours of overtime. One of the worst thoughts in the world after she died suddenly was realizing that for the first time, I could afford some version of a life.
If we’re lucky, we’ll live long and cheap, and die quickly, but most people I know at the end of their lives require some form of long-term care and not all are lucky enough to have family who care enough and can afford to provide it for them.”