Singapore Expats

The thread I made on where will you retire has been popular. Shall we now talk about when?

I checked with my dad and he reconfirmed age 56 is when he retired, and he has had no regrets.

I stoped working a year ago at age 52 and haven’t worked since. I’m still on the fence as to whether I’ll return to work, but as time goes by, I seem to get more and more comfortable with the idea of being retired. I had planned to retire in my 40’s when I was in my 30’s, but have to regrets extending to my 50’s.

There is evidence that early retirees that stay engaged in an active and fulfilling life will live longer than those who keep working decades longer, especially if it’s a high stress job. Of course, those who sit around and do nothing live shorter lives (surprise, surprise).

So, when will you? Or, if you already retired, what age was it and what’s been your experience?

I'm winding down at 61.

Thinking of cutting lose at 63 when I am in Oz permanently.

I retired this year at 45. Used the classic geographic arbitrage of earning in high income country(Singapore) for 16 years and now spending my retirement in low cost country(India).

Most of you guys are high achievers, reached senior management levels in your companies, so for you guys retiring must have been hard, loss of identity, power, influence etc, apart from the money.

I on the other hand was a slacker, used to hate my job, hated reporting to my boss, never asked for a promotion, stayed at the bottom most individual contributer level, always shunned work and procrastinated work and if I could avoid doing it I would avoid or take the easy way out. I was basically lazy, undriven at my job and did it only for the money. I waited there patiently until I hit my target corpus and eventually called it quits when I hit 45 this year.

How do I pass my time now? I play badminton for 1hr daily. When I was working, being a lazy person, I always used that as an excuse for not working out, hence I had very poor physical fitness. So to me any improvement in this department is worth more than the additional couple of million dollars I could have potentially made by continue to work. I also meet my parents every day and spend about 1/2 hr, they live in the same building downstairs. I drop and pickup my daughter from school. Rest of the time I spend watching the markets, twitter, reddit, youtube, netflix etc

It has been 6 months and there is no way I will trade 10 hrs of my day for money. I would like to do some form of engaging activity that takes 2-3 hrs of my day and I yet to find it. But until then, I cool just spending time with the pursuit of nothing.

@Wd40 you might have slacked at work, but you certainly didn’t on your finances, and that is what made all the difference.

I’ve felt no loss at all since I stopped working. Not sure I rose high enough to gain that much identity, power or influence… but then again, I care nothing for those things anyway.

One thing I’m still considering next year is an executive MBA. It’s a 6-figure price tag, but at least doing that would sharpen my skills and grow my network. It might also compel me to work, if nothing else, to recoup the investment. We’ll have to see how bored I get (or don’t get).

I'm 62 and currently have no plans to retire - subject to me not being retrenched!* I'll be able to access my CPF Life pay outs when I turn 65 so I'll see how things are then.

In many ways I have been very blessed. Although its nature has changed over the course of my working life, I've pretty much had the career I dreamed of since I was a teenager. It certainly hasn't been as financially rewarding as other professions that demand equally long working hours, but it has been tremendously satisfying in other ways.

*This raises an interesting point: chances are, if you are over 50 and lose your executive job, the chances of you finding a similar role are very slim. So that means you'll find your yourself effectively 'retired' but without access to your CPF.

CPF LIFE payouts can start as early as 65, but no later than age 70. Waiting means higher payouts, typically just over 5% more each year.

My wife only has CPF and I only have Social Security. I don’t plan to touch either one before age 67 to maximize our payouts.

Addadude wrote: ↑

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:45 am

*This raises an interesting point: chances are, if you are over 50 and lose your executive job, the chances of you finding a similar role are very slim. So that means you'll find your yourself effectively 'retired' but without access to your CPF.

Yes precisely.

I'm 45 now. I'm currently in an individual contributor technical role at a local bank. Relatively fixed timings and relatively stable. I'm a bit reluctant to try to climb the corporate ladder because it is nothing but added stress - and I do enjoy the work that I do. Furthermore, I'm in IT because this is what I always wanted to do since I started tinkering with a Commodore 64 at age 7. So all of this adds up to relatively lower stress levels from my job.

My thought is to continue working till as long as the bank permits me to continue in such a role. If all good, that would be till approximately retirement age - if all goes well, I would take a call on whether or not to be rehired when I hit the retirement age. The key is to have a decent income, manage stress AND be financially independent latest by 55 so that I am better prepared for retrenchment if it does happen.

malcontent wrote: ↑

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 6:06 pm

CPF LIFE payouts can start as early as 65, but no later than age 70. Waiting means higher payouts, typically just over 5% more each year.

My wife only has CPF and I only have Social Security. I don’t plan to touch either one before age 67 to maximize our payouts.

You can access OA from 55.

smoulder wrote: ↑

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:07 pm

Addadude wrote: ↑

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:45 am

*This raises an interesting point: chances are, if you are over 50 and lose your executive job, the chances of you finding a similar role are very slim. So that means you'll find your yourself effectively 'retired' but without access to your CPF.

Yes precisely.

I'm 45 now. I'm currently in an individual contributor technical role at a local bank. Relatively fixed timings and relatively stable. I'm a bit reluctant to try to climb the corporate ladder because it is nothing but added stress - and I do enjoy the work that I do. Furthermore, I'm in IT because this is what I always wanted to do since I started tinkering with a Commodore 64 at age 7. So all of this adds up to relatively lower stress levels from my job.

My thought is to continue working till as long as the bank permits me to continue in such a role. If all good, that would be till approximately retirement age - if all goes well, I would take a call on whether or not to be rehired when I hit the retirement age. The key is to have a decent income, manage stress AND be financially independent latest by 55 so that I am better prepared for retrenchment if it does happen.

I was in similar situation like you, but the problem is if you forego promotion, someone younger than you who is more ambitious and less skilled and experienced will eventually become the manager, that's what happened to me. I hated reporting to someone like that.

I just felt it so embarassing to have to go to daily stand-ups and have to explain what I did and the manager would kind of try to micro manage me. Eventually I decided, with the kind of networth I have I don't need to go through this.

At age 45, we are already past our prime age and fitness, and this is like our last chance to do things that we enjoy doing. The last thing I want is to spend 10hrs a day doing something that I don't like doing.

Wd40 wrote: ↑

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 11:24 pm

smoulder wrote: ↑

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:07 pm

Addadude wrote: ↑

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:45 am

*This raises an interesting point: chances are, if you are over 50 and lose your executive job, the chances of you finding a similar role are very slim. So that means you'll find your yourself effectively 'retired' but without access to your CPF.

Yes precisely.

I'm 45 now. I'm currently in an individual contributor technical role at a local bank. Relatively fixed timings and relatively stable. I'm a bit reluctant to try to climb the corporate ladder because it is nothing but added stress - and I do enjoy the work that I do. Furthermore, I'm in IT because this is what I always wanted to do since I started tinkering with a Commodore 64 at age 7. So all of this adds up to relatively lower stress levels from my job.

My thought is to continue working till as long as the bank permits me to continue in such a role. If all good, that would be till approximately retirement age - if all goes well, I would take a call on whether or not to be rehired when I hit the retirement age. The key is to have a decent income, manage stress AND be financially independent latest by 55 so that I am better prepared for retrenchment if it does happen.

I was in similar situation like you, but the problem is if you forego promotion, someone younger than you who is more ambitious and less skilled and experienced will eventually become the manager, that's what happened to me. I hated reporting to someone like that.

I just felt it so embarassing to have to go to daily stand-ups and have to explain what I did and the manager would kind of try to micro manage me. Eventually I decided, with the kind of networth I have I don't need to go through this.

At age 45, we are already past our prime age and fitness, and this is like our last chance to do things that we enjoy doing. The last thing I want is to spend 10hrs a day doing something that I don't like doing.

For sure things can be not so ideal. Why I said "if things go well" I will try to work till retirement age (60s). It means that I have to have a decent manager - it's a given that he or she will end up being younger, but hopefully that doesn't mean incompetent.

Believe me, I have many examples as inspiration right here in this forum of no nonsense guys who diligently built up to financial freedom. Yourself included. I am hopefully going to get there in approx 5 to 10 years, so after that I will be able to take a call on whether I need to put up with a lousy managers shit if that situation arises.

After a lot of thought and consideration, I’ve abandoned the MBA idea and decided to pursue certified financial planner (CFP) instead. Classes start in 3 weeks.

I am just not motivated to take another corporate job and the pay on the west coast is no better than the midwest, apparently something called the sunshine tax (you have to sacrifice pay for the nice weather, because people competing for that job from other parts of the country are willing to).

So it came down to: what do I love enough to do for lower pay, and financial planning is the easy answer, for me anyway. I think it could be my perfect retirement job.

malcontent wrote: ↑

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:52 am

After a lot of thought and consideration, I’ve abandoned the MBA idea and decided to pursue certified financial planner (CFP) instead. Classes start in 3 weeks.

I am just not motivated to take another corporate job and the pay on the west coast is no better than the midwest, apparently something called the sunshine tax (you have to sacrifice pay for the nice weather, because people competing for that job from other parts of the country are willing to).

So it came down to: what do I love enough to do for lower pay, and financial planning is the easy answer, for me anyway. I think it could be my perfect retirement job.

Good choice! Given your skills and interest in this area you will make a very good financial advisor. All the best!

malcontent wrote: ↑

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:52 am

So it came down to: what do I love enough to do for lower pay, and financial planning is the easy answer, for me anyway. I think it could be my perfect retirement job.

Hey Mal! How are you doing? It looks like I am going to be unretiring myself soon. I got a couple of interview calls last week and it looks like 1 or more of them will convert to an offer.

When I moved back to India 10 months ago, I was kind of open to work but not very keen and I was prepared to retire early.

Over last 10 months, I played badminton, I used to pickup and drop my daughter to school, I used to go on weekend rides. We also did couple of car road trips.

But after 10 months, I got bored of badminton and I am also kind of running out of places to go for weekend rides and my daughter's summer holidays of 2 months is coming up. So I am finding myself with a lot of time which I am spending in just scrolling reels. I am not feeling bored yet, however, it looks like I might after sometime, run out of hobbies and have this pressure to find new ones.

So, it was just timely that I started getting interview calls and I have healed from those corporate scars of my previous job, it will be a new set of people, no old baggage, nobody knows me, I know nobody, so I am hoping initially atleast there will be some excitement with a new job. After that we will see how things go.

So, thats the update from my side.

Wd40 wrote: ↑

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 1:04 pm

malcontent wrote: ↑

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:52 am

So it came down to: what do I love enough to do for lower pay, and financial planning is the easy answer, for me anyway. I think it could be my perfect retirement job.

Hey Mal! How are you doing? It looks like I am going to be unretiring myself soon. I got a couple of interview calls last week and it looks like 1 or more of them will convert to an offer.

When I moved back to India 10 months ago, I was kind of open to work but not very keen and I was prepared to retire early.

Over last 10 months, I played badminton, I used to pickup and drop my daughter to school, I used to go on weekend rides. We also did couple of car road trips.

But after 10 months, I got bored of badminton and I am also kind of running out of places to go for weekend rides and my daughter's summer holidays of 2 months is coming up. So I am finding myself with a lot of time which I am spending in just scrolling reels. I am not feeling bored yet, however, it looks like I might after sometime, run out of hobbies and have this pressure to find new ones.

So, it was just timely that I started getting interview calls and I have healed from those corporate scars of my previous job, it will be a new set of people, no old baggage, nobody knows me, I know nobody, so I am hoping initially atleast there will be some excitement with a new job. After that we will see how things go.

So, thats the update from my side.

That’s great to hear WD! I think unretiring happens to a lot of people, normally within two years.

I’m now a full time student and will be complete the certificate program in record time with final CFP exam this November. It has been a good experience… the students are of all ages, 20’s, 30’s, 40’s even 50’s, and surprisingly, quite a few career changers like myself. The culture here is that anyone can reinvent themselves at any age, so that helps. I will look for work in the second half after we move. However, I am still wondering whether we really want to live here forever.

Keep us updated with your job situation!