What does the Govt thinks of Singaporeans?

1. Regarding their investment skills and market savvy

The following CPF rules related to CPF investment:

From 1 May 2009, only monies in excess of $20,000 in your Ordinary Account and $30,000 in your Special Account can be invested.

Up to 35% of investible savings can be invested in Shares, Property Funds (or real estate investment trusts) and Corporate Bonds.

You should always check the CPF website www.cpf.gov.sg for any updates in the rules for CPF investment.

2. Regarding their retirement fund

SINGAPORE--Singapore will raise the retirement age for its citizens to 65 from 62 by 2012 and eventually to 67 to account for the higher life expectancy of its ageing population, its prime minister said on Sunday.

"The best way to be all right in old age and to have enough savings is to stay employed and to work longer. Because with longer lifespans you cannot retire at 55 and live until 80 or 85 or 90," Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a speech on state television to mark the city-state's national day.

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Boon Heng has indicated that the country may need to raise its retirement age to 68.

Mr Lim, who's in Finland accompanying President S R Nathan on his state visit there said Singaporeans need to work longer as their life span increases.

That is because they need to accumulate more for their old age.

Mr Lim who is also the minister in charge of issues on ageing in Singapore, cited Finland as an example, and will use this trip as an opportunity to study how the Finnish are dealing with their ageing population.

Mr Lim added there are areas that Singapore can emulate. One of which is to mobilise the elderly to organise themselves and form retirement communities that can provide mutual support and friendship.

A law that will make it mandatory for employers to offer re-employment to workers beyond the age of 62 will be in place by 2012.

"We are raising the retirement age, through the process of re-employment from the current 62 to 65 in January 2012. Beyond that we would have to examine how we can further raise the retirement age. In Finland, they have raised it to 68, so it gives us an indication about where we should be heading.Because the Finns are not living longer than us, we have a life expectancy of about 80, I think the finns are little less than us," said Mr Lim.

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The Government needs to step in to help and protect the average CPF members on their investment by setting investing limit and investment guidelines. It also help to enable average Singaporeans to work longer as their life span increases by raising official retirement age so that they can accumulate more and may have enough for their retirement.

In another word, if we want to retire well and early before the latest official retirement age, we must rise above the Average Singaporean by earning more, saving more, and investing well to build up enough retirement fund to see us through longer life expectancy of about 80 or more.
 
More importantly, we may have to start thinking of retirement much earlier than our parents' generation.
 
Have you started thinking of your own retirement or still worrying about your kids education fund. BTW, your kids can borrow from banks for their university education but you can't borrow from the banks for your retirement.