would i have enough money to live to 85?

when it was first mentioned by the prime minister during his 2007 national day rally speech, it was referred to as compulsory annuities. subsequently, the minister in the pm's office who has been tasked to look into the aging problem, mr lim boon heng, clarified that certain categories of people might be exempted. in such a case, it would no longer be compulsory; that's why the name has been changed to longevity insurance.

many singaporeans' savings will run out even before they reach the age of 85. with the high cost of living, housing and cars, singaporeans spend a large part of their working life in debt, servicing loans. the change in lifestyle exacerbates this dire straits. people are spending their future earnings. they buy things on credit, take loans to pay for big and small items and even go on holidays using borrowed money. what is there left to save?

nowadays, people do not have much attachment to their properties. on singapore roads, cars above ten years old are a rarity. in most cases, people trade in their car for a new one before it reaches five years old. they upgrade from a smaller government flat to a bigger one or to a private apartment. they do the same for many of the things found in their homes. upgrade from plasma to high definition. upgrade from pentium iii to pentium iv. upgrade their mobile every 21 months.

we have been led to believe that our money in the cpf will be able to see us through our twilight years. how myopic we have been! a lot of us do not have the minimum sum in our special account when we reach 55, which was the default retirement age 15 years ago.

with life expectancy going into the 80s, we will need to have a saving of nearly a quarter million dollars when we retire at 62. if you are to spend $1000 a month, it will add up to $12, 000 a year. multiply that by 20 years and you will have a figure of $240, 000. with the rate the cost of living is increasing, spending $1000 is not excessive for a retiree.

definitely have to compromise my lifestyle, travel less and tighten my already squeezing belt.