How much is enough for retirement in Singapore?

[MrsKiasu]

I think 3k for a couple retiree for now should be comfortable. No loans, no tuition fee and kids are independent.


I believe dh would like to work if there are jobs available and I hope I could be productive too. Hope we could di something to bring extra income and also to slow our minds from deteriorating.

And I just checked…property tax went up.

[MyPillow]

MrsKiasu\" post_id=\"2058780\" time=\"1644983612\" user_id=\"43981:

I think 3k for a couple retiree for now should be comfortable. No loans, no tuition fee and kids are independent.

I believe dh would like to work if there are jobs available and I hope I could be productive too. Hope we could di something to bring extra income and also to slow our minds from deteriorating.

And I just checked..property tax went up.

ya stay active in a way - hope can do things we like n enjoy , definitely not our current jobs though

[Nebbermind]

zac's mum\" post_id=\"2058708\" time=\"1644923436\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2058708 time=1644923436 user_id=53606]
Each couple has different lifestyle & therefore different amount required.

I’d take the current monthly expediture (assuming you want to continue living same lifestyle), then multiply by 12 months.

Remember to also add in health insurance costs (payable annually) & medicine costs (for the 三高 and aches & pains). These will only be expected to go up not down as you age.

Also factor in 5% inflation and GST going up soon also.[/quote]

Yes, if there is an intention to maintain the same comfortable lifestyle, then there will definitely be a cost to it.

But let's assume it is a estimate for the average guy on the street who at 65 is without a job or a roof over his head, how much does he need to continue comfortably, without the extravagance or being frugal?

Rent + Utilities + phone/broadband + transport = $2500 for a small home for 2?
Food = $30/day or $$1k/mth per person
misc = $1k/mth (excess to be save for future)

$1.32M up to 85 yo for 2 pax

So is $5.5k per mth for 2 persons comfortable by today's standard? Or is it too high if compared to what a lower income household have to work within?

So assuming you have a home, that's $2k/mth reduction for rental. And if cpf payout is $1.5k/2pax (I dunno coz haven't reach there yet! ) that would reduce the amount to $3k/mth or $700k up to 85

My intention is not to hardcode the amount needed but rather to generate a ballpark figure in which we can start working with.

There will definitely be many more parameters which we have to look into but we can still come up with some baseline so gauge how far we are from a 'good to have' retirement amount

[zac's mum]

Certain costs will be reduced if not working, like transports costs will probably go down if dont have to travel to/from workplace 5 days a week. Possible to ditch the car if live within walking distance of the amenities u need (eg supermarket/wet market, clinic, public swimming pool/park etc).


Food costs also can come down if not lunching out with colleagues 5x a week. Fine to cook simple meals at home since plenty of free time. Personally I’m ok to downgrade my lifestyle since as someone pointed out, late 40s onwards I will already start to eat healthier to prevent future health problems cropping up. Switch to housebrand items no big deal for me, unless I really cant stand the taste/quality.

DH, on the other hand, has more luxury tastes, so he has to budget for restaurant meals more often, plus branded clothes whatnot.

[MrsKiasu]

See NBM’s calculated amt of 700k, can feel stress level suddenly go down lol. Since we were young, we got fed info of need a million to retire. That’s why I asked abt the projected 600k for overseas studies? Just imagine, minus the profits in property that some of us lucky enough to be able to earn in our generation… maybe can take quite a portion out of ppl having million in savings? I just guess only…


And 5.5k for retiree should be considered at higher end ba…I just think there may be quite a numbet families living with young kids at maybe lower than that.

What I think is we just try to save/invest however much we could and don’t feel overly stressful of having too little during our retirement coz that is what best done already.

I believe there are options of go for basic or premium necessities/wants. But not to say till need to collect cardboard or sell tissues la…unless we find that is our way to exercise or keep ourselves in touch with the society…

[Imp75]

Hahaha talking about setting aside overseas education funds etc…has anyone ever calculated how much money we hv spent on tuition all these years for our kids and wonder that equates to an overseas uni education or not Hahaha and whether those payoffs are worth it or not.

[MrsKiasu]

Imp, that definitely alot of money…our side considered more to the controlled side (I guess), dd1 starting 5th yr tuition for 2 subjects and dd2 starting her 2nd yr tuition for 2 subjects.

[MyPillow]

MrsKiasu\" post_id=\"2058796\" time=\"1644989830\" user_id=\"43981:

Imp, that definitely alot of money..our side considered more to the controlled side (I guess), dd1 starting 5th yr tuition for 2 subjects and dd2 starting her 2nd yr tuition for 2 subjects.

Haha , I worked abt it before too, so stick to reasonable tuition when needed.
If high side fr P5 to A level , $1000 plus per month , 8 yrs abt $100k, hmm,,, then mayb equiv go aust for a basic degree le? And Ang mo company like Ang mo degree too ? Which is more value for money

[MrsKiasu]

MyPillow\" post_id=\"2058797\" time=\"1644990458\" user_id=\"70594:

Haha , I worked abt it before too, so stick to reasonable tuition when needed.
If high side fr P5 to A level , $1000 plus per month , 8 yrs abt $100k, hmm,,, then mayb equiv go aust for a basic degree le? And Ang mo company like Ang mo degree too ? Which is more value for money

So expensive the tuition rate..and it is a group tuition somemore..and cannot imagine A lvl tuition rate, don't know if could reach there tho :razz:

I dread to think after O

To OT abit, I got to pull the dad into the picture to give lecture to the 2..so last night was dd2's turn. daddy gave lecture, dd2 feel guilty cried to sleep and daddy almost midnight told me he feel heartache for giving her lecture asked me kiss her on behalf..losing focus, both kids and I :spank:

[Funz]

We did not spend that much for tuition. Chinese for DD & DS in Pr sch. For DD Math for P6 and sec 3&4. Think about $50-60K for both of them combined.


For retirement, I have been working towards about $3-4K/mth for myself. I do not think I will be retiring at 65 though. I will likely continue running my biz for as long as the biz is doing well and my health permits.

DH is also working along that amount. Somehow since day 1, we manage our finances quite separately. We do have a joint account where we put aside money for household expenses but other than that, we manage everything else separately including our retirement plans. We do have an idea of what each is planning but that is about it.