3 biggest fears of Singaporean retirees

70% are anxious about poor health.

According to a recent study by HSBC (Future of Retirement: A New Reality), spending more time with friends and family (71%) and taking more holidays (63%) are the top two most popular retirement aspirations cited by the large majority of respondents.

Interestingly, the desire to continue working is an important aspiration for 47% of Singapore respondents, indicating a significant lifestyle change where retiring later in order to earn a living for as long as one can is becoming more prevalent as people cope with longer life expectancy.

This is considerably higher than the global average of 35%, which seems to support a general observation that more in Singapore are staying employed beyond the
conventional retirement age out of necessity, rather than choice, to maintain a lifestyle of their preference.

With close to half anxious to keep up with previous standards of living, it is, therefore, not surprising that the top three fears accompanying these aspirations about retirement are poor health (70%), financial hardship (62%) and not having enough money to provide for good healthcare (60%).

Walter de Oude, Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Insurance (Singapore) said: “Financial planning has become especially relevant as increased longevity and elderly dependency challenge people’s retirement nest egg. According to the recent Population White Paper, in 2012, there were 5.9 working-age Singaporeans for each citizen aged 65 and above but this ratio is projected to shrink to 2.1 by 20302.

"A strong savings culture is no longer sufficient in itself. What is needed is a structured and disciplined approach guided by a professional financial adviser to help people start or catch up on their retirement planning.”