Breathing new life into your golden years

Do you find the idea of retirement daunting? Perhaps it's because we're already balancing so many other things in our lives that the age groups leading up to retirement (35-44 years and 45-54 years) were found to be least confident that they will be able to save enough to support themselves through retirement.

But perhaps it's a matter of mindset. Rather than the end of your life, what if you saw it as just the next phase of our multi-stage life? As life expectancy moves towards 100, retirement would be one in which you could live life with a different purpose — pursuing your passions full-time, giving back to the community, or engaging in a career you've been wanting to try.

In order to enjoy this phase of life fully, ample preparation is required to ensure you can maintain your current lifestyle or even improve on it in your golden years? And the fact is, the sooner you make provisions for your retirement, the better. Financial consultants will tell you the best time to start planning for retirement is in your 20s…and the second-best time is today.

You may think you’re well-prepared…but are you?

Prudential released a whitepaper, Saving for 100, for which it surveyed 1,200 Singapore residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. It found that 44% of the respondents were not confident they had saved or could save enough for their golden years.

Those aged 25 to 34 in particular face the toughest challenges in retirement planning, as many want to support their elderly parents. But amid shrinking household sizes, only 30% expect their children to support them. They also recognise the importance of diversifying their income sources and have a greater risk appetite in their financial strategies compared to the older generation, with 60% including investing in shares and other exchange-traded securities in their strategies.

Still, experts interviewed by Prudential said Singaporeans can do more to maximise their savings, such as by topping up their CPF accounts and refrain from withdrawing from them after 55, or including higher-yield assets like blue chip stocks and investment-grade bonds to complement lower-yield ones like government bonds in their savings portfolios.

What to consider in retirement planning

The first thing to determine is when you want to retire and what you’d like your retirement to look like. From here, you can establish a multi-stage plan that covers the time until your retirement, having enough for potential medical bills, savings for additional goals, housing, supporting your dependents, growing sufficient wealth, and being able to support your current lifestyle.

When you have all these details in place, you must then calculate your current assets and liabilities, such as when your mortgage or any other debt will be paid off and how inflation rates will affect how much you will need to properly plan for your retirement.

Whether you are single, already have a family of your own, planning to start a family or not intending to do so, Prudential has a variety of insurance solutions to suit your needs — be it for health and medical purposes, mortgage, critical illness, endowments, education, retirement or insurance investment.

Understandably, the different factors to consider in retirement planning and the variety of options in insurance solutions may seem overwhelming. This is why engaging a trusted professional to help you with your concerns and recommend the best solutions to meet your goals is of critical importance.

At the same time, you can take control of your own wealth management with Pulse by Prudential. Its Wealth@Pulse feature has a collection of tools that offers wealth management tips from Ruby, an AI-powered digital assistant. It also allows you to set and track financial goals with My Goals, and connects you to financial consultants for in-depth financial advice.

With all these tools in place, taking charge of your second wave of life is easier than ever, and leaves little excuse to be under-prepared for your retirement.

This article is for your information only and does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs of any persons. We recommend that you seek advice from a Prudential Financial Consultant before making a commitment to purchase a policy.