What if we live till 100 years old?

IF you are a Singaporean, or a Permanent resident living in Singapore, you would have a CPF account. 

Some people like the idea of this account, some people not so. 

If I can share my thoughts here, it would be that I am really glad that the government implement this system for her people. After being in the workforce for about 15 years, I have not much savings in my savings bank account. But this CPF account helped me to save quite a sum of money. 

The whole idea of having this account is to help us save. We can use this account to buy an apartment, to save up for retirement where it pays out monthly, or for investment to grow our wealth. For a dope like me, I think in another 20 years when I retire, I might not even have what I have right now if not for this CPF account. So I am thankful to our wise government. 

There is a chance that we might live till 100 years old. 

As a Christian, I sometimes tell my husband that I look forward to going heaven to meet Jesus. But I've seen many great man and women of God lived till a ripe old age. For example, Evangelist Billy Graham, who passed away at age 99 years old. 

Bring it closer to home. My grandmother died at age 91 from colon cancer. My dad is 71 this year and very actively travelling before Covid-19 hits the world. My father-in-law is 72 and still doing his gem research with full of passion. 

So, be prepared. We are going to live longer than we expect. 

So what should we be prepared for?

In my opinion, here are a few things to think about.

1. Daily living and expenses (i.e. bare minimum) during retirement. (This period could easily be a span of 20 years!)

2. Based on a random sampling of 2,000 Singapore citizens and permanent residents aged 18 and above done by NCSS in 2015, the self-reported disability prevalence rate was 3.4% for those aged 18–49 years old.

--> Be prepared for possible situation of disability in old age. 

See source of information here. 

3. What would you like to leave behind for your descendants? 

Conclusion

What have you done to prepare for the above? If you had done something about it before, do you think that it would truly be sufficient for the future? How about your descendants? Do you have any plans for them already? If you own a business, do you have any contingency plans for situations of disability or plans for succession (whether your own children or key workers)?

I would love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to comment below and we can have a friendly chat in the comments section!

Biography

Ms. Sarah Loke graduated with a BSc. (Pharm) and Dip. in Gemmology (UK). She had been teaching gemmology since 2010 and had founded The Gem Museum, Singapore in 2015. The Gem Museum is the first and most comprehensive gems and minerals museum in Singapore open to the public. Her passion is to bring life to businesses and into individuals through her experiences, knowledge and insights in education, entrepreneurship and financial planning. 

Feel free to contact her at loke.huiying@gmail.com!