Recently, there was an article published by ricemedia.co on a 31 years old who retired in Singapore. Yes, you got that right – 31 years old retiree! With Singapores’ retirement age going up to 64 years old by 2026, his bold and unconventional move surprises many people. Undeniably, the number one question everyone has on the top of their head is – how can he afford to retire?

Singapore is a country with a high cost of living, and every other day, we see news on HDB flats sold for record-high transactions, electricity tariffs going up, food prices getting crazy, and so on. Yet, someone managed to retire in his early 30s. Is it really possible?

In this article, we will look at how much you need minimally to retire in Singapore at 30 years old.

Assumptions

Understandably, it is not easy to retire at such an early age. Yet, it is possible to retire in Singapore at 30 years old if you can keep your cost of living low. Below are some of the assumptions that we will take to form the basis of our calculation (same assumptions that are implied from the article that allow the author to retire early) –

• Single with no intention to start a family / get married
• Lives with parents
• No car
• Monthly expenses average around $1k
• No debts

Now that we have established our assumptions, let’s calculate how much you would need minimally to retire at 30 years old in Singapore. We need to ensure that we will have enough to last till ripe old age of 100 years old. This means we need a whopping 70 years worth of savings by 30 years old.

Expenses

With no debt, house, or car, the only main expense incurred in this case would be the personal monthly expenses that average at $1k per month. Honestly, it would be incredible if you were able to keep your monthly expenses at such a low figure. But hey, it can be done. However, it would take a lot of self-control to avoid small temptations that will threaten to blow up your budget.

Monthly expenses usually include – parent allowance, personal bills such as phone and entertainment subscriptions, insurance, food, and transport.

Meals = $450 ($5 x 3 x 30 days)

Transport = $130 (adult concession)

Insurance = $100 (basic coverage)

Entertainment + Personal Subscriptions = $100

Parent Allowance = $200

Income

With inflation at 3% to 4% for the past few years, it is almost impossible to expect that the monthly expenses will be kept at $1k per month. In addition, we would have to consider that we will not be as healthy as we are compared to our 20s and 30s, and other expenses such as healthcare, better food, and small home improvements would be needed for us to thrive in our silver years.

Instead, of having a fixed amount of how much to save, the focus here should be on having enough such that you can generate enough income to cover the expenses from the savings you have.

Thinking of finances during retirement can be mentally draining, hence we will be conservative in the type of investments we will undertake with our savings. The simplest and most risk-free investment in this case is Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB) and Fixed Deposits (FD).

Currently, the average interest rates you can get from SSB and FD are around 3%. With expenses around $1k per month, you would be able to generate sufficient income from the interest if you have savings of $400k.

Summary

From 30 years old to the day you take your last breath (very morbid), there are still many opportunities to take a break from retirement. As you grow older, you may wish to enjoy the finer things in life that require more dough, your outlook on life may be different or you may find small gigs that make you fulfilled while earning you some extra cash.

Life is not absolute, but as a starting point, $400k is sufficient to help you generate some interest income to defray your monthly expenses assuming you can keep it at a humble amount of $1k. As mentioned, the real art of early retirement in this scenario is keeping expenses low. With the rise of social media, there are the constant temptations of getting new gadgets, travelling to exotic places, and trying expensive food that will threaten your wallet.

Best of luck to you, should you wish to embark on your early retirement journey.

Last Updated: 27 Apr 2024