MIND THE GAP

A ‘portfolio life’ as the answer to the longevity challenge

Human capital can generate long-tail dividends far beyond the technical retirement age

Summarise
Genevieve Cua
Published Tue, Sep 15, 2026 · 06:09 PM
    • More high-net-worth individuals believe they will live to 100. This is reshaping approaches to work, retirement and wealth planning.
    • More high-net-worth individuals believe they will live to 100. This is reshaping approaches to work, retirement and wealth planning. PHOTO: TAY CHU YI, BT

    [SINGAPORE] This year, around 1,500 Singapore residents are 100 years old or older, up from 1,200 in 2015, and just 700 in 2010.

    What is the probability that we will live to 100? In 2018, UBS Global Watch, a survey of high-net-worth (HNW) individuals, found that more than half believed they would live to 100.

    I am also convinced that I will become a centenarian. While my father passed relatively young in his late 60s, my mother is now 92, albeit frail.