Life after work: Preparing for a rewarding retirement 

PRE-RETIREES often wonder how much is needed to have a comfortable retirement. Determining our retirement nest egg can be tricky. You want to find a balance between achieving an optimal nest egg and having time to enjoy it, and spending more years in the workforce for a higher amount only to have too little time or health to enjoy it.

With Singapore projected to become a super-aged society next year, the need to boost Singaporeans’ retirement adequacy is reflected in this year’s Budget announcement, with initiatives and schemes, such as the Matched MediSave Scheme, that go a long way to boost financial resiliency.

While a S$1 million retirement nest egg is often cited as a target in Singapore, your actual needs will depend on several factors. Your desired lifestyle – whether it involves travel, pursuing passion projects, hobbies, charitable giving and spending time with family – will significantly influence your expenditures during retirement. Other key factors include projected daily expenses (accounting for inflation and increasing life expectancy), insurance premiums and anticipated income sources.