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Wednesday, May 5, 2010
About two weeks ago, Yahoo! Answers Singapore asked: Will Singaporeans be able to retire by the age of 60?". Majority of the posted replies were quite pessismistic about their prospects.No way, unless one marries rich or wins Toto, was an oft-cited response.
A good number of repiles pointed out that life in the city-state is all about debt-Singaporeans will have to work until they die to pay off their obligations. This perception, in my opinion, might be exaggerated, but the argument that debt may hold back retirement at 60 is hard to discount, especially now that prices of HDB flats have risen, and wages haven't exactly been up.
"Singaporeans' are all 'paper rich'. Almost everyone is in debt: Housing, Car, Study, etc..." said one reply that earned agreement from fellow posters. Another poster noted that Singaporeans incur debt starting from the time they study in University to the time they have to buy a house and a car.
The increasing cost of living in Singapore is frequently mentioned as a major constraint to achieving retirement goals. With exorbitant prices of HDB flats, I seriously doubt Singaporeans can think of retiring. Inflation is high and medical expenses are rising.
In my opinion, I think Singaporeans are not in any rush to retire at this point of time and situation.
{ 4:58 AM }