Most Singaporeans believe that retirement is important, but fail to plan ahead of time.
This lack of urgency is often caused by these factors:
1. Many Singaporeans assume that their CPF contributions alone are enough to meet their retirement needs. This may not be true, as everyone’s retirement needs are different. By not knowing how much you need for retirement, there is a risk that you may not be able to save enough during your working years.
2. The idea of retirement is often neglected, especially by youngsters. Most people will also prioritize immediate needs such as marriage, buying a car or property, caring for parents, or funding their children’s education, over saving for their retirement.
3. To the majority of people, retirement planning is a huge, intimidating, and long-term task. Many people don’t know where to start, and as a result, they tend to procrastinate.
4. Some people intend to downgrade their home to a less expensive one, and then use their excess sales proceeds to fund their retirement. However, this method has an element of uncertainty, because if the property market is downtrend during the time they wish to retire, they may end up selling their home for a lot lesser than expected.
Retirement planning does not need to be a huge, scary task. The first step is to calculate how much you need for retirement, and then continue to work out a plan from there. If you need help with financial planning, contact your trusted FLA Organization financial planner today.
