Lets talk about retirement
 

Let me define retirement first:

Retirement is the time when you do not need to stay in a job for money. Its not about stopping everything and doing nothing.
Many people are stuck in their jobs & wanting to leave, but cant, because they need that income & cant accept a lower income.
Retirement is about - i can leave this shit already. i dont need the income anymore or that level of income. Dont need to suffer this daily for that income. Can take a easier or happier job at lower income. Or even stopping work altogether with zero income.

"Income" mentioned above refers to active income only. excludes passive income.

What are your plans for retirement, as defined above?
Where would you retire in? (please take into account about the realistic possibility of getting a long term stay visa in that place. Dont tell me a place like Japan)

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

no definite plan at the moment, location wise i would like to go Thailand!

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

Havnt actually experienced life in the european countries yet, but did have the thought of finland / switzerland. outskirt life. not sure if i can get used to it though.

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

Vietnam hopefully :p vi toi hoc tieng viet roi

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

how? unless you marry a viet wife

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

switzerland is perhaps the most difficult country to get a long term stay visa in the world. even if you marry a swiss.

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

the end goal :D

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

A friend whatsapp me this & coincidently it's oso abt retirement and i find the contexts do make sense in a way so i reproduce its contents here:

Do u know?

Retirement age is 67,

Life expectancy is 70~80's

Work for 50 years to maybe enjoy 10++ years of retirement life?

Start enjoying life now,

No one is guaranteed of tomorrow.

Very true indeed right? :D ..

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

i actually never thought about this. this thread is a wake up call wow. now i reflect i understand why i have friends living overseas. maybe australia. already have relatives there so... not so lonely

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

yup
while working, just save up more. invest and create passive income. dont anyhow spend on depreciating things like expensive clothing or car. Then can reach the goal faster.
most people just spend more as they earn more, or even buy a more expensive house then end up having longer debt to service. Think they rich, but only end up working longer to service the debts.

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

interesting thread again. I have been thinking about this for some time too. I am coming to 50 in a few years and actually hope to be able to retire in your sense of the word, early 50s or 55 [CPF SA contribution % goes down].

Main thing now is because I have kids and want to at least have some idea that I can dong the uni fees if they get there. At the least, for kids doing uni in Singapore, can use CPF OA to pay first, probably need 50k (?) per kid? In my early 50s, they would be only finishing sec sch though.

For other expenses, I would like to renew COE so there goes another big sum of money (currently close to 140k) but that COE can take me till mid-50s. Other than that, not planning to take any other big loans with HDB paid up. Too late to play the property game and not interested in taking loans till 60s, 70. CPF sufficient for FRS now so I guess basic level of living is OK but after 65 which is the draw down age. For money outside of CPF, I hope to be able to get passive income of 5-6k by early 50s, say 51 or 52 (including a retirement annuity that I got conned into buying by DBS/Manulife of about 1.8k). I don't believe that a couple cannot get by with 5-6k monthly excluding CPF (maybe another 2.5k or so for a couple after 65).

As for place for retirement, to be honest, Singapore is probably the best place. It is very safe, compare to other countries where you cannot show wealth, cannot go out late at night, weapons etc. It has great healthcare. Of course, it is very expensive. If possible, I would like to retire in Singapore but have to watch daily expenses. integrated shield plans not getting cheaper as we age, so something to consider to drop once turn 80 maybe. Not particularly interested in taking too many holidays, so I guess kopitiam living is OK with me :D:D

all the above only a plan, not fruition, unfrotunately.

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

If any of you is thinking of retirement in Asia, please dont give up your SG citizenship! with the enhanced medishield that covers all pre-existing illnesses, etc. Go live the life you like somewhere else but come back to SG when kenna terminal illness and when mobility is affected. You cant really get around much on a wheelchair in other Asean countries.

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

I started a similar thread a decade ago at https://www.sammyboy.com/threads/the...thread.151153/

My definition of retirement is pretty much identical. Too many people misunderstand what "retirement" actually means.

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

yes.
on giving up sg citizenship: best do it young. before 40 (more flexible for females).
Else, dont! Especially for males due to national liabilities.
After you have finished your national liabilities, it is the time for you to reap the benefits.
What benefits?

1. medical service. Our medical standard is considered best in the region (SEA). please dont come compare to countries beyond that unless you can migrate there and become their citizen.

2. HDB flats or other real estate asset. Its appreciating till they decided not to increase the population here as land here is fucking scarce. rental yields for hdb flats are high, easily 7-12% pa. Rent it out and live elsewhere and you can live a decent life even with the rental income alone (for 1 person).

3. CPF. It is extremely hard to find anything that pays you 5% pa interest guaranteed by the govt, risk free (for special acc). You should not be relying on it as the only means of retirement, but its also too good to give up.

4. Passport. Just common sense. Visa free to travel to most countries in the world. Saves fucking lots of hassle.

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

Probably its just different definition for different people.
The general thing people agree about "retirement" = freedom of choice. wanna work? dont wanna work? what job do you wanna do? etc etc.... all available for you to choose.

Please share some good tips and advice from the previous thread?

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

what i would do if i am in your shoes. Just saying here, to provoke some thinking. Realise that everyone has different dreams, aspirations, responsibilities, background & preferences.

if i am you:

1. The car. what do you need it for if you are going to retire? Car expense in sg makes a big difference. 1st its 140k COE + Car cost, then its 10 years of car usage expense like parking, maintainence, repairs, fuel, etc etc. Add all these costs up over 10 years. Do you know the difference in networth can come out to be like 500k after 10 years? imagine you took all this money and put it into a US stock index ETF, yield 400% over next 10 years. Yes this difference can change your life. Car would be the 1st thing to ditch.

2. Oh the "use CPF OA on your kids' education" thing. They have to pay back to cpf with interest. Coming back to the car again. Why not use the car expense for their education instead?

3. "Singapore is probably the best place'. I tend to agree with this statement. its not best in the world.... but probably better than 90% of the world, overall. Thing about sg is.... People come here to stay, to make an income. The reason why people here are willing to put up such high living cost here is because they can earn more here. It makes sense. But.... if you retire, assuming you do not make active income. Then it doesnt make sense anymore to pay that high living cost to live here. Sg is a place to make money.

I'm not asking you to follow what i say. Its just some food for thought.:)

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

Point 2 sounds like a good idea. Rent your HDB out and rent a cheap apartment overseas. But how to obtain visa for foreign country, this is the tricky part unless u don't mind travel in and out of the country every month.

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

I'm sure those who are interested will pop over to the forum via the link provided. :D

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

yes this is actually a major challenge.
There are practically 2 ways to tackle this:

1. Look for countries that issue retirement visas. Not only in asia. Look at other parts of the world. Found this list on the net, may be a good point to start. You can see that most of these countries would probably require some form of passive income to qualify ( i think thailand doesnt need passive income).
https://wherecani.live/explore-optio...irement-visas/
My idea is do at least visit and try staying there at least a month on minimum expense and see if it suits you there.

2. Have enough money, pay for an investment visa. generally expect to at least fork out USD 500k in order to get an investment visa. Note that this USD 500k is not an expense (for most countries that offer it), but a minimum investment amount. You can still get the money back. The only problem is the limited choice of investments that qualify for the visa, or making an investment in that country might yield little for you or even make you suffer financial loss.

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

thanks bro, can't say I have not thought about it. It's just a matter of mind vs heart. Logically, one can save a lot by taking MRT and we do have a very good network. My family generally need the car for the kids, family activities etc. Not say cannot use MRT but hope you get the idea of mind vs heart, I know I can save a lot too..lol

if one has the money to retire in Singapore, it truly is a well shielded place. no natural disasters, security, healthcare, amenities.

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

yes
but have to pay the cost of living in such a good place too.
Cant have it both ways

There are places which are as good and yet cheaper too. Just have to explore and find it. The world is so big.

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

ya bro,thailand damn nice

agree this！

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Work until got enough saving and buy house in Thailand. Then retired and live like a king 🤴 ::cool:

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

Wow. This is one of the very rare quality thread..:)

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Easier to retire if u r single, if your plan is go somewhere like Vietnam or Thailand to stay your spouse will definitely object, not easy to please SG women :D :D

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

I read your opinions and I agree with you. Might consider Bali for retirement..?

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

[QUOTE=fallen11;22389311]Let me define retirement first:

Retirement is the time when you do not need to stay in a job for money. Its not about stopping everything and doing nothing.
Many people are stuck in their jobs & wanting to leave, but cant, because they need that income & cant accept a lower income.
Retirement is about - i can leave this shit already. i dont need the income anymore or that level of income. Dont need to suffer this daily for that income. Can take a easier or happier job at lower income. Or even stopping work altogether with zero income.

"Income" mentioned above refers to active income only. excludes passive income.

What are your plans for retirement, as defined above?
Where would you retire in? (please take into account about the realistic possibility of getting a long term stay visa in that place. Dont tell me a place like Japan)[/QUO

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

will retired at Thailand

Re: Lets talk about retirement
 

yea visa is an issue i need to overcome