I don't know much about the CPF retirement scheme, to be honest, I'm not someone who really trust the CPF because of various personal reasons.
But recently, many of my friend's and even my own parents have retired. They start to tap on their CPF retirement sum and some opted for the monthly payout. The amount of the monthly payout differs, depending on how much you've in your account.
And then horror stories came.
I've heard from one of my friend who mentioned that his father is not seeing a doctor after coughing for 3 weeks because it's "waste of money". He just brush it off saying the cough will go away.
The other day, I was drinking at a hawker center and a middle aged handicap man in wheelchair came to sell tissue, when he passed by a retiree, he was greeted by nasty comments and "shooed" away.
The retiree was complaining about how he has shrimped all his life but now still only get a few hundreds a month from CPF! He went on to say that he only can afford a cup of tea and nothing else, where got money to spare! He then took out some tissue from his pocket and ask if the handicap man wants to buy.
Well, that was not very compassionate of him and of course these were just a few "bad examples" or some would say, "rotten apples". However, doesn't that also reflect something about CPF retirement scheme?
I don't know, I start to wonder if the CPF is even adequate to provide security and a reasonable comfortable life. From my experience with a few retired people I've met, there seems to be at least some level of insecurity, scrimping and even envy.
I don't know but I've often heard, "...because they're earning few thousands a month mah! I retired leh!" on many ocassions when money is involved. They're afraid to buy better clothes, eat better or may even hate festive seasons or celebrations. Other times, they wait for "senior discount days" to enjoy a few percent off their shopping. Some count their expenses daily... To be honest, I don't find that comfortable living at all. In fact, I think they're unhappy and insecure.
If someone was to take my money, lock it up for decades, promising a simple/reasonable retired life, I'd expect more ... or at least a more worry-free retirement life than this. But of course, this just my opinion.
While I support the CPF for retirement, I also do not believe relying on CPF alone will ensure a comfortable retirement. More to fulfill the needs rather than wants.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing to note is inflation, CPF payout does not account for that. So a 3% inflation every year for 20+ years is not going to help much if you are surviving solely on CPF. (Really depends on the choice of payout plan, and how much is in the Retirement Account).
In short, the earlier you cash out, the thinner your money is stretch. But that also means you enjoy your fruits of labor later..
I agree that the CPF is not like what it promised, it'll not give you a worry-free life after retirement, especially if you're not drawing a certain amount of salary.
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