Procedure for withdrawing your CPF at 55

[Leongsam]

Please lah Boss... you think you very smart with your will?

If you are forced into the CPF Life scheme now and if you take up the default standard plan of lower bequest option, when you die, PAP is going to sapu all your money in the CPF leaving very little for your beneficiaries. How much? $1?

The CPF funds are only a very small part of my will. I have never included CPF funds in my financial planning simply because I decided to aim higher so that I could retire early.

 

[winnipegjets]

I don't know the details of his private life but he's not a high flier. Worked in a bank for most of his life before deciding to go easy in the latter part of his career to do consultancy work. What exactly he did I have no idea. I actually gave him a call last night and he told me exactly what was on his statement in 2012 before he withdrew a large portion last year.

He had $835,800 in his ordinary account. $2,600 in his special account, $33,800 in his medisave account and $129,000 in his retirement account.

If he can accumulate these sorts of savings in his CPF, anyone with half a brain can do the same. I never considered him to be THE SMARTEST TOOL IN THE SHED. Just an average Joe. He lives in a 5 room HDB apartment. His wife worked in an Ang Moh company in Accounts before retiring 2 years ago at 50. I asked him how much she had in her CPF and he told me it was around $380,000 in the ordinary account. She was just an accounts assistant not a qualified accountant.

Your couz is in the top 20 percent ...so, why do use him as the standard bearer? You don't need to be smart to be in the banking industry.
When the two of them purchase the HDB flat decades ago, it was totally affordable.

Singaporeans certainly are very lucky. These sorts of figures are unheard of in NZ where many people retire with ZERO savings at 65 (official retirement age) and rely entirely on the government pension to get by. I have mentioned the CPF scheme to many of those I know and they are full admiration and wish that they too had such large sums of money to their names.

Yeah, the amount seems huge ...but it is only $23k a year, not index to inflation, if he lives till 85, less if he lives longer. His wife has $11k. That's not a lot of money for a couple in the top 20 percent while working. Throw in some major medical need, their retirement income vanishes quickly.

Meanwhile your NZ buddies have a guaranteed income at current amount of $29k per couple, indexed to inflation, until they meet the creator. So, even without savings, your NZ buddy is better off than your relatives. They didn't have to slog like dogs and could retire with income certainty. And their medical is taken care.

Can we trade citizenships?

 

[Leongsam]

Your couz is in the top 20 percent ...so, why do use him as the standard bearer? You don't need to be smart to be in the banking industry.
When the two of them purchase the HDB flat decades ago, it was totally affordable.


Yeah, the amount seems huge ...but it is only $23k a year, not index to inflation, if he lives till 85, less if he lives longer. His wife has $11k. That's not a lot of money for a couple in the top 20 percent while working. Throw in some major medical need, their retirement income vanishes quickly.

Meanwhile your NZ buddies have a guaranteed income at current amount of $29k per couple, indexed to inflation, until they meet the creator. So, even without savings, your NZ buddy is better off than your relatives. They didn't have to slog like dogs and could retire with income certainty. And their medical is taken care.

Can we trade citizenships?

I have no idea what category he fits into but if a guy like him is in the top 20%, it doesn't say much about the the other 80%. They must be seriously lacking in some department.

You also made the assumption that CPF is all he has which is not the case. While he isn't a high powered executive, he exercised basic common sense and has medical expenses covered by a combination of life insurance riders and savings set aside.

NZ super may sound good on paper but in reality it is anything but. NZs pay huge amounts of taxes throughout their lives only to find that at a ripe old age, they are getting very little back. The cold weather here makes retirement on super even more miserable because heating costs are out of this world. In Singapore taxes are low and they help every citizen save a portion of their monthly salary.

http://www.nzpensionprotest.com/Home/related-topics/inadequacy-of-nz-super


[TABLE="class: sites-layout-hbox, width: 806"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD="class: sites-layout-tile sites-tile-name-content-1"]Why do pensioners stay in bed?

This is not about older folk being naughty and having fun under the duvet. It is about superannuitants staying in bed because they cannot afford to heat their homes. In a broader sense, it is about the adequacy of NZ Super, or rather its inadequacy to cover living expenses.

The issue was first raised under the catchy “stay in bed” headline in Grey Power’s Lifestyle magazine in 2008. Two years later, a superannuitant with a sharp mind and a penchant for figures did some extensive number crunching. Based on publicly available statistics, he arrived at alarming findings which prompted both Age Concern and Grey Power to take action. Following is a summary of this study from the Age Concern website:

"A new study shows that NZ Superannuation payments aren't enough to live on. Many people are short by $30-plus every week.

New Zealand Superannuation – A Measure of its Adequacy, a two-part study by Katikati volunteer John Logan, has been released jointly by Age Concern New Zealand and Grey Power.

Both our organisations are so concerned at the study's findings that we have jointly forwarded the study to the Prime Minister and other MPs.

Even the most minimal living costs, based on Statistics New Zealand figures, add up to more than the current Super payments of $245 - $318 per person in the hand each week.

"Most older people have only Super to live on, plus very small savings income," Age Concern New Zealand chief executive Ann Martin says.

"Few people would like to live on John Logan's minimal weekly budget, but his study shows that many older people can't even afford this basic standard of living without going into debt."

Couples on Super are the worst off, with the study reporting shortfalls of $30-plus each per week. The deficit increases the further South they live, due to higher heating costs.

The study shows that older people need extra weekly income just to make ends meet, but Statistics New Zealand figures show at least half of all older New Zealanders have $38 a week or less of additional income.

They must go into debt or cut even basic living requirements to survive.

The current level of Super payments has little relation to the cost of living. It is set through an arbitrary proportion of the net full-time average wage plus inflation adjustments. Government agencies have little information on its adequacy."[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]