Is 1.5mil enough to quit the rat race at 45?

[Shiny Things]

I'm feeling really tired of work and stressed out. Thinking of slogging till I'm 45 then retire n enjoy living a simple life. If I can tahan until then, I will have accumulated about 1.5mil total cash+investments+CPF+HDB all in.

Do you think this is enough for a single person? HDB 4-room flat will be fully paid by then n no other debts?

Very desperate to get out of the rat race..

This is all a bit finger-in-the-air, but if you can live off $30k-$45k a year, you could probably survive on $1.5mio of capital, excluding your house (assuming a 2-3% withdrawal rate, which is conservative enough to be safe).

That said, though: instead of saying "I'm going to pack it all in and sit on the beach", why not take a year off work and find a new career? Sitting on the beach is going to get boring after the first couple of months, and if you have a different career to come back to, that'll make that $1.5mio last a whole lot longer.

 

[grenoble]

Takes great courage and careful consideration is needed to retire at 45 eventhough one may have enough savings. People are gonna judge you and think you are lazy and you will also feel less confident having to deal with identity loss and the fact that you are no longer contributing to society.

Sometimes I will also think the same way and wonder how much is enough to stop working.. I guess it's just a common feeling given the stress we feel at work

that is up to individuals i suppose. In this manner, i buying more time (healthy able-bodied years at age 45-65) to do the things i want, rather that living it up to societal norms and having fancy cars and condo (if that's what you want) which brings nothing more than material and monetary gratifications which slowly diminishes.

I think its more satisfying getting things that money cant buy, ie real conversations and human relationships (dun you think a lot of that at work is all fake) , sipping a cup of coffee and people watching for 2 hours , offering genuine help and assistance to someone without expecting for anything in return , giving your time to your loved ones and pets.

Retiring at 65 and making sure everything is provided for for the kids is indeed selfless and very asian. No right no wrong. I just want to do something for myself.

To top that off , i dun have a extravagant lifestyle. I have been out of work for 1 year and i know my basic survival amounts for sg, in those cheaper countries i mentioned, i could stretch my sgd for a lot more.

 

[grenoble]

This is all a bit finger-in-the-air, but if you can live off $30k-$45k a year, you could probably survive on $1.5mio of capital, excluding your house (assuming a 2-3% withdrawal rate, which is conservative enough to be safe).

That said, though: instead of saying "I'm going to pack it all in and sit on the beach", why not take a year off work and find a new career? Sitting on the beach is going to get boring after the first couple of months, and if you have a different career to come back to, that'll make that $1.5mio last a whole lot longer.

True that, once you have the capital as back up,you have no worries and you could try your hand at a new career , not for the money ( thou it pay some mandatory bills) but something you enjoy doing, so you dun feel like working at all

 

[ocs_woodlands]

I'm feeling really tired of work and stressed out. Thinking of slogging till I'm 45 then retire n enjoy living a simple life. If I can tahan until then, I will have accumulated about 1.5mil total cash+investments+CPF+HDB all in.

Do you think this is enough for a single person? HDB 4-room flat will be fully paid by then n no other debts?

Very desperate to get out of the rat race..

Very desperate??

Well then spend this weekend to do ONE thing.

Come up with your YEARLY (not monthly - that's for kids...) expenditure. Capture EVERY single expenditure including haircuts, insurance, donations, and even CNY decorations..

Factor in a 2.5% yearly inflation rate till you are 85. Use the excel spreadsheet. Use a figure of 3.5% yearly returns on your retirement funds.

Then adjust the the retirement find sum until the amount just runs out at age 85... that's the retirement sum you need

 

[fluxos]

life is journey, enjoy it.

Do things to spice it up etc; getting married, starting a family, changing your career to something you enjoy.

When you do reach your goal of retirement at 45, you'll realize retirement is not what you want. Do some soul searching and perhaps you'll find out the true reason why you want out of the "rat race".

 

[koster]

No dependants except for parents who more or less have enough for themselves financially. Of course the unpredictable part is medical cost. I'm assuming that the shield plan is going to cover most of the healthcare costs, just need to fork out the co insurance n deductible portion. Should be manageable. Have a small amount of cI coverage and a life plan which I will surrender when all my money runs out..

I have similar thoughts about retirement too and do not know how much is enough. One key consideration is my insurance coverage. Thought when say 60s, insurance is even more important than when younger and the premium at that age is exponential? That said my mum only started buying her insurance for medical coverage in her 70s

 

[homer123]

That is my exact plan to rotate my stay in those countries you mentioned every 6 months.. However, it did not work out because the tourist visa only allow 30 days. It is a hassle to pack and move every month.. or you have to do a visa run on the border to extend your stay

Definitely not staying in sg and rot.

Ideally, i plan to live in thailand, taiwan , msia and singapore and rotate every 6 months. Slowly travel around and explore living away from cities, learn local cooking ,life and culture , work out, bucket lists , try ur hand at low-cost business in something fun and just take it slow and easy and low cost.

 

[chopra]

I'm feeling really tired of work and stressed out. Thinking of slogging till I'm 45 then retire n enjoy living a simple life. If I can tahan until then, I will have accumulated about 1.5mil total cash+investments+CPF+HDB all in.

Do you think this is enough for a single person? HDB 4-room flat will be fully paid by then n no other debts?

Very desperate to get out of the rat race..

cant advise if u dont indicate ur retirement plan. how simple is simple.

u got to work out the activities

 

[Mergui219067]

You may live another 40 years & no extra income.
You have no one to support you unlike those who are married (who are more likely to have children/ wife to help).

Bored to death ?

 

[koxinga]

Like what other people alluded to, your current predictament is job or perhaps industry specific. Change that and it might all change.

Most people don't see that we in part are culpable for the rat race ourselves. You have a choice.

 

[Oldnerd79]

Like what other people alluded to, your current predictament is job or perhaps industry specific. Change that and it might all change.

Most people don't see that we in part are culpable for the rat race ourselves. You have a choice.

Changing job or switching career is one option. I have to be careful though as it may not be easy to find a decent job at my age esp when I dont have very highly sought after skill sets n work experience.

That's why i think it is safer to just stick to my current job till 45, after that can decide if I want to retire or change job / industry.

 

[ExtremeWays]

You don't have an infrastructure or business. How to retire?

 

[Mergui219067]

Gentle reminder:
Your HDB is value - falling asset

With possibly 40 years to go & single , $1.5 millions (HDB included) is not exactly up to you to say to retire.

 

[Sinkie]

At least $5m to retire

 

[havetheveryfun]

so basically 90% of the population can't retire even at 65, considering that the recommended enhanced retirement sum in the CPF is only around 300-400k at max when you are 65 years old. cos need millions to retire, right ?

TS, just work till you are dead, cos even if u have 2-3 million at 65 years old, also will not be enough.

 

[Buzy_bee]

At least $5m to retire

For single or couple with kids?

 

[Mergui219067]

Pump max into SA as young as you can .
It goes into CPF Life which gives interest rate of 4-6 % & safe.

Don’t be too pessimistic as the govt know that many may live till 80s .
CPF Life beyond basic provides >$1k++ till uplorry .

 

[Sinkie]

For single or couple with kids?

Couples with kids

 

[bigrooster]

I'm feeling really tired of work and stressed out. Thinking of slogging till I'm 45 then retire n enjoy living a simple life. If I can tahan until then, I will have accumulated about 1.5mil total cash+investments+CPF+HDB all in.

Do you think this is enough for a single person? HDB 4-room flat will be fully paid by then n no other debts?

Very desperate to get out of the rat race..

Can I know how old are you? (Update: er ... i assume you are 39?)

I am a little past your targeted quit-rat-race age. And I am already out of it. I don't have $1.5m and I don't count the value of my HDB in. But instead of what some people think, you don't need $5 million to retire in SG. It all depends on your inflow and outflow. Cut down on unnecessary spendings. And invest away a healthy portion of your deposits prudently.

While you work towards this goal, do also think about something to do after you quit. Don't laze at the beach everyday. For me, I am doing my own trading and investment; apart from doing what I like, the minute income generated helps to offset my daily expenses. The longer term equity investments contributes to some passive income.

For potential health issues, it is very hard to predict. Even if one is employed and then kenna a critical illness, that person later may still have to leave employment eventually cos too ill to work.

When I was still working, I consistently transfer $ from OA to SA until max out. Since cannot touch might as well let them compound at higher interest lor.

I am still soldiering on but so far I see it can be done. Important thing is don't have debts (besides small credit card O/S) when you quit.

Last thing: health is more important than $.

 

[bigrooster]

And you can take a one-year break first. But do bear in mind if you are a chao sinkie, once you quit without a job you may never get back into the industry again. Unless you have got very good connections. Or you can get a job after kenna low-ball terok terok you will feel short-changed and miserable.

Speaking from experience. So ... something for you to bear in mind.