Retirement planning is ideally a life-long process, and best when you start early

Retirement planning is ideally a life-long process, and best when you start early.

Assessing retirement income goals and determining the actions and decisions required to achieve them may seem tedious to some, but it is definitely the best to way to ensure a secure, comfortable – and fun – retirement.

During the NUS Giving Webinar Series on Options To Build Your Retirement Income, key speaker Ms Dora Ho from the Institute for Financial Literacy shed light on the possible options available to help achieve retirement goals as well as their benefits and risks.

“There is no one-size-fits-all in retirement planning. You can start by identifying your goals and basic needs during retirement – things like your housing, healthcare and retirement expenses,” shared Ms Ho.

“What kind of lifestyle do you want to lead when you retire? How many years do you expect to be in retirement? What debt or income will you still have when you retire? These are important questions to answer when planning ahead,” Ms Ho continued.

The many options available to build one’s retirement income will depend on an individual’s liquidity needs, risk tolerance, objectives, investment time horizon and transaction costs. As every individual’s needs and circumstances are different, it is crucial to tailor the plan accordingly.

“One way to build your retirement income is by right-sizing your property. The key here, is right-sizing and not down-sizing. The Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) and Silver Housing Bonus Scheme (SHB) are two schemes available to help HDB owners who are planning for retirement,” elaborated Ms Ho.

Other alternatives, such as annuities, insurance and investments in financial products were also explored during the webinar. Ms Ho went on to give a brief overview of each of the tools available as well as the advantages and risks it can provide.

“It is crucial to understand the risk and return trade-off of each tool. Higher risk products will potentially yield higher returns while lower risk products means potentially lower returns. Be aware of the considerations when applying age-appropriate options and always diversify your investment portfolio to reduce risk,” Ms Ho explained.

Concluding the webinar, Ms Ho emphasised three key takeaways from the session before giving the audience the floor and answering their questions.

“It is never too late to start your retirement planning, be aware of the considerations when applying age-appropriate options and be extra prudent when investing your retirement savings,” she concluded.

For further information on the NUS Giving Webinar Series, contact the Events team at dvoevents@nus.edu.sg.