CPF-SA is not a free lunch but it is not a myth.

Reader says...

As you were showing your SA amount i was wondering how come it can b higher than the FRS?

I tot SA amount should be capped at FRS.

How did u accumulate $200K+ in your SA?






AK says...

Once our CPF-SA has hit the FRS, no Top Up is allowed.

No OA to SA transfer is allowed either.

However, mandatory contribution and voluntary contribution are still allowed up to the annual contribution cap (i.e. contribution that goes into all 3 accounts) every year.

CPF-SA will also continue to grow from interest earned year after year even after it hits the FRS.






The former Minimum Sum (MS) and, now, the Full Retirement Sum (FRS) are not monsters we should fear.

The FRS has to increase year after year as cost of living increases year after year.

If we push more money into the SA earlier on in life and continue to be gainfully (and legally) employed till we are 55, even after we stop contributing to our CPF, the interest earned in the SA will likely keep pace with the increase in FRS year after year.








Could the interest earned, in fact, be higher than the increase in FRS?

Definitely, it could or, at least, that has been my experience.

The CPF-SA can actually continue to grow without additional effort on our part!

So, is the CPF-SA like the mythical perpetual motion machine?

No.

The perpetual motion machine is a myth.

The CPF-SA is not.






You cannot get something for nothing.

There is no free lunch in this world.

If someone is getting something for free, someone else is paying for it.

The CPF is about helping members to help themselves.

Put nothing in and we get nothing in return.

Put something in and we get something in return.






Feel as if you cannot beat the system?

You are only beaten if you think you are beaten.

Bad AK! Bad AK!

Remember.

If AK can have more than the FRS in his CPF-SA, so can you!






Relates posts:
1. AK showing off his CPF-SA again?
2. 4 ways to boost our CPF savings.

Jin jelly or jin buay song my CPF? Hosay liao!

Reader says...

My colleague this week say CPF can only take out $ at 67.

I say 65 start CPF life payout.

55 can take out too if hit FRS.

He say can hit FRS meh?

I say don hit take can take out $5k.

He more agitated. 😂

Looks like he believe he cannot hit FRS.

Imagine I tell him in 2 months time I gg hit FRS. Lol






AK says...

Some people jin jelly.

Now, this one jin buay song.

How liddat?

On its own, it might be insufficient but the CPF can help us on our journey towards financial freedom.

Believe me or not?





Assuming that I stop contributing to my CPF account from 2019, I should have more than $1.2 million in my CPF at age 65.

Yes, more than $1.2 million if I stop contributing.

It is not a typo.

How does that make you feel?

Jin jelly or jin buay song?

Or did you just say hosay liao?







Related posts:
1. AK makes people jin jelly.

2. You can hit the MS (FRS) too!
3. $1 million in CPF by age 65.

Lose weight fast and stay slim! (From low carb to moderate carb.)

My lunch on 13 Oct 18.

Ingredients:
1. Popcorn chicken.
("FarmPride" brand 
by SATS, of course.)
2. Chopped spinach.
3. Egg.
4. Extra virgin coconut oil 
(1 tbs).

Microwave for 4 minutes at 800 watts.





Then, add and mix well:
5. Extra virgin olive oil
(2 tbs).
6. Black pepper.
7. Turmeric powder.

----------
I am back from a short holiday and, as expected it was so difficult to eat right.

It was terrible and it was good at the same time, if you know what I mean.

Now that I am back home, it is back to eating right.

Beautiful sunset.

It has been a while since I blogged about food.

As promised before I went on holiday, here is a blog on food.

Regular readers know that I went on a low carbohydrate, high fat diet many moons ago.

I shared it almost a year ago as the secret to my successful weight loss.

See:
Gain will outweigh the loss.







I had to present my passport on two occasions during my vacation.

When I presented my passport the first time, I was asked,

"Did you go on a diet?"

When I came back, I had to present my passport again.

After looking at my passport photo and at me a few times,

"You are much thinner!"








Over many months, from 78 kgs, I am now 64 kgs in weight.

Losing weight is 80% diet and 20% physical activity. 

I became a firm believer after I saw the results.

After reaching my ideal weight, I am no longer on a low carb diet but a moderate carb diet and for quite a while by now.





I have always liked bread but was avoiding it.

No longer.

Having read up on diets and nutrition, I am familiar with the arguments against eating bread but I did miss eating bread.

A moderate intake should be fine lah.

It is just like char kway teow and chye tao kway.

Right or not?

You disagree?

You are probably not a Singaporean.






Anyway, I like French toast but I decided to try doing something different.

I scrambled an egg in extra virgin cocounut oil before dunking a slice of Gardenia bread in it.

Must be Gardenia bread, of course.

Powdered with black pepper and a sprinkling of garlic salt.

1 minute in the microwave at 800W and voila!

A 20 (maybe 30) cents breakfast. 

Oh, so good! 

Yum, yum!





Related post:
5 minutes and less than a dollar!

Retirement adequacy for late bloomers 101.

I have said many times before that we should start saving money and investing for income as soon as possible.

If time is on our side, the journey to financial freedom is likely to be less demanding.

This led me to say that everyone should start young.

The younger we start saving and investing for our retirement, the easier it is going to be.





Imagine a 25 year old investing S$650 a month.

Let us say his investments give a 5% dividend yield.

Let us say he re-invests the dividends.

How much would he have by age 65?

A cool $1,000,000!





The problem with this narrative is that older readers who have yet to start their journey or have recently started on their journey sometimes get discouraged or even depressed after reading this.

Of course, what I always tell them is that they are just starting later.

Not late but later.





It simply means that they have to work harder.

It is likely to be harder because most older readers have rather hefty financial commitments which include money guzzling pets known as "children".

Ouch!

Alamak!

Who threw a shoe (or two) at me? Who? Who?

All else being equal, having less mileage left in life, they are also unable to take hard knocks financially (although some of them think they can) but that is another topic and if you are interested, you would want to read my latest "e-book".

See:
Survivability and opportunity in times of distress.

There is no point in regretting.

There is no point in feeling depressed.

Set a goal, a realistic goal and, then, it is just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other.

Remember, the journey to financial freedom is not a race.

See:
Journey to financial freedom is not a race!





"What if I never become financially free?"

I have always been encouraging but, for some people starting later, it is a possible scenario despite their best efforts.

To these people, I will say that even if you do not become financially free, if you do the right things, you will become financially more secure!

Cutting out unnecessary expenses (by keeping needs simple and wants few) and having some passive income will make anyone financially more resilient.

It is quite simple.

However, I still believe that, in Singapore, unless we are severely disadvantaged, all of us can become financially free.






If you are a young person, you have time on your side.

Don't squander it.

If you are an older person and have yet to start on the journey, don't lose heart.

In my reply to someone in his late 50s who has just joined us on H.M.S. Financial Freedom, I said:

1. Recognise that I cannot be too adventurous with my money because I can ill afford massive or total loss of capital.

2. Max out CPF-RA to benefit from a risk free 4% to 6% per annum return and this will provide a guaranteed monthly income in future (earliest from age 65).





3. If I have money to spare, get some investment grade bonds which includes Singapore Savings Bonds.

4. If I still have money to spare, get some relatively stable investments in stocks (like ST Engineering) and REITs (with stronger balance sheets) for higher returns but this should be a smaller percentage of total portfolio.





5. Adjust my lifestyle according to how much I expect to have coming in at retirement instead of working towards something that will pay for my current lifestyle in retirement.

6. Even after adjustments, if there is a big mismatch between expected inflow and expected outflow, postpone retirement by a few years to strengthen personal balance sheet and cash flow.





7. If I have the option and if I really need the cash, rent out spare rooms at home, if any.

You can still be financially free even if you start very late in life.

Yes, bloom later but bloom, you shall.

If AK says so, it must be so!





Related post:
Improving retirement adequacy for my dad.

Stop telling people I am a retiree? NEVERWINTER banzai!

Regular readers know that I spend quite a bit of time online gaming.

It is something I enjoy and the fact that it is free to play (F2P) makes it even more attractive for me.

I also enjoy meeting people from all over the world in the game.

Neverwinter has a gaming population that is almost 3 times the size of Singapore's population!

Therefore, the virtual economy is big and very vibrant as we can buy and sell stuff found in our adventures.

Although we can trade with NPCs (i.e. non-player characters), the more interesting and lucrative trades are with other players.

After more than a year gaming, I have had quite a few chats with fellow gamers and I am sharing one here.






Gamer #1:
What do you do in RL?

AK:
I am a retiree.

Gamer #2:
Oh, so are we!

Gamer #1:
Enjoying some good quality time with the grand kids?

AK:
Uh....

Gamer #2:
They grow up so fast!

Gamer #1:
Don't they now?







Do most people assume that retirees are in their 60s or older and probably have grandchildren?

To be fair, I think it is probably not an unreasonable assumption

I now wonder if I should stop telling people I am a retiree?





I mean I was telling people I was unemployed before but I was advised not to do that.

See:
You are not successful unless...

Well, to be more accurate, I am classified by our government as economically inactive and not unemployed.

The Japanese might call me an Otaku or shut-in or N.E.E.T. (i.e. not in employment, education nor training).

The Chinese will call me 宅男.

I have decided.

I will tell people that I am a full time gamer!

Neverwinter banzai!






Related posts:
1. Wealthy nation cannot retire?
2. AK should be ashamed!

Longevity should be a blessing and not a curse.

"One in two Singaporeans aged 65 today is expected to live beyond 85, and one in three will live beyond 90.

"Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers to look into whether changes are needed on the retirement age of 62 and re-employment age of up to 67, and if so, when they should be made.

"It will also relook the impact of Central Provident Fund contribution rates on retirement adequacy of older workers."

Read full article: HERE.

Reader says...
"I know one person in Singapore who could not care less about this review. LOL."

Who? Who?

What I want to draw fellow Singaporeans to is the first line of this blog.

What? You speed reading and missed it?

Go see the numbers again.

And what is also important to note is the word "today".

People are living longer and 10 years from now, people aged 65 would probably be living even longer.

Making sure that we have enough to fund our retirement and that we won't be a burden to our family and society at large is a serious matter.





There are still many people who are of the Y.O.L.O. mentality.

"I can afford the Y.O.L.O. lifestyle lah.

"What is your problem, AK?"

Ask yourself if you can afford the lifestyle now AND in the future.





If your future is secure too, then, go ahead.

You shouldn't let AK the miser stop you!

What? You didn't think about the future?

Cham liao lah like that.

Don't play play.





As we live longer, we need to have even more certainty when it comes to funding our golden years because there will be many more of those years to fund.

All of us know that there are those who think that CPF Life is just another way the government is stealing our money.

Regular readers know what AK would say.






1. A lot of the money in my CPF is actually from the government.

See:
A lot of money in my CPF-SA.

2. If you should ever be blessed with longevity and chances are more than 50/50 that you would be, you would be more than happy you had an annuity like CPF Life which pays you a monthly income for as long as you live.

See:
CPF Life Payout Estimator,






Unless we are born with a spoon made of some precious metal in our mouth, when legitimate help is offered, we should take it.

Make longevity a blessing, not a curse.

HAPPY NATIONAL DAY!

See: CPF grew $200K in 3 years!





Related post:
1. How much money can you save?
2. Are we worried about retirement adequacy the right way?

Give up Singapore citizenship to unlock CPF savings!

Aiyoh, why so many rumors?

If we have questions about the CPF, who should we ask?

Don't ask me.

I blur.






Reader says...
Hi AK, recently I chatted with one of my colleagues and he feels that the govt just keep raising the minimum sum and CPF life drawdown age. 

Apparently there is rumour that the CPF life drawdown age will be increase from 65 to 67. 

He is even thinking of migrating to Canada so that we can withdraw his CPF money.

AK says...
Rumour is a rumour. Haha

Good luck to him in Canada. 😉

Reader says...
Actually this is just to let you know how people are feeling about CPF. 

Like forever cannot touch

AK says...
These people will likely forever have not much CPF to touch 😜

Tell your colleague that the CPF Life automatically pays out at age 70 if we do not opt for earlier pay out date.

Hope that doesn't freak him out. 😛


Reader says...
Aiyoh u so bad!





Ya lor. I also say.

Bad AK! Bad AK!

I know Singaporeans who are very dissatisfied with Singapore and everything to do with our country.

They are always complaining about things in Singapore like there is nothing good about our country.

Why not try to make the system work for us instead of thinking that the system is against us?

Could it be that we are against the system instead?

We don't know we had something good until we have lost it.

It is too late then.





Related post:
Government confiscates CPF-MA money when we die!

Survivability and opportunity in times of distress. ("E-book")

Be warned.

This blog could be considered heavy reading, especially on a weekend.

From time to time, I still read or hear people say that an emergency fund is really over rated and that there is no need to have one.

Of course, regular readers know that I disagree with this and that I even have an emergency fund that does not only cover 24 months of my own expenses but my parents' as well (and then some).

Bad things do happen in life and that is what insurance is for but if we buy insurance for all the things we could possibly think of that could go wrong in life, we could go broke.

Yes, buying insurance for everything that could go wrong in life is wrong and I have blogged about this before too.

See Chapter 1:
How insurance weakened a family?






Then, there are those investors who have an emergency fund but do not believe in having a war chest, preferring to stay almost 100% invested all the time.

To me, there are times to be 100% invested but, most of the time, it probably isn't a good idea.

There are many reasons why and one is that those who do not have a war chest might be tempted to use their emergency fund, if they have one, to invest with if Mr. Market goes into a depression.

No! No! A thousand times, no!

I have said before that we should not invest with money we have earmarked for other purposes.

We do not want to be caught in a situation where we have to sell at whatever price Mr. Market offers because we have no choice.

See Chapter 2:
This way to $50K passive income?





Yes, it can happen.

Remember, if Mr. Market goes into a depression, possibly, it is because the real economy is in a bad shape and we might lose the job we depend on to bring home the bacon.

Of course, if you are born with a spoon made of some precious metal in your mouth, please ignore this blog.

See Chapter 3:
My family almost went bankrupt.






The no emergency fund and no war chest camp sometimes say that the option to borrow money is always available.

Of course, regular readers know that I think it is a bad idea to think like this.

The Global Financial Crisis happened 10 years ago but human beings have a short memory.

Still, some of us might remember how difficult it was to borrow money then.

Don't put ourselves in a situation where we have to borrow money.

It is not a good place to be.

See Chapter 4:
Compared to anger, shame is a thousand times worse!

So, is debt a bad thing?

No, that is not what I am saying.

I am saying that depending too much on debt is a bad thing.

Debt is really just a tool.

If we think about it, it is just a tool that magnifies our financial decisions.

If we make good decisions, they will look better with debt.

If we make bad decisions, they will look worse with debt.

See Chapter 5:
Gear up and receive more income?






Debt cuts both ways but it is just a tool.

The danger always lies in human behavior and their feeling of invincibility.

If we keep using debt, we might get drunk on debt and history has shown this to be the case.

Overly dependent on debt, people over extended themselves.

Overly leveraged, when things did not go as planned, they could not repay their debt sufficiently and went bankrupt.

See Chapter 6:
When are we over leveraged?







So, I did not mention the Global Financial Crisis just for fun.

It should be remembered and be used to stress test our finances as the worst possible financial storm that could hit us.

Without an emergency fund and a war chest but, instead, have quite a bit of debt, could we survive or do better in another Global Financial Crisis?

It doesn't matter if we have good or bad debt, debt is debt and this question should be in our base plan.

Do you believe that good debt can go bad quite quickly during hard times?

See Chapter 7:
Don't think and grow rich!







Yes, it is true that there is an opportunity cost in holding an emergency fund and a war chest.

However, having these will improve our survivability and let us capitalise on opportunities in times of distress.

They are self insurance policies.

Opportunity cost?

It really is a small price to pay.

Of course, I have blogged about how having a steady stream of passive income is self insurance too but that is another topic.

See Chapter 8:
Best insurance in life.







No emergency fund and no war chest?

You could be doing yourself a big disservice.

See Epilogue:
How much should you have in an emergency fund?

What is worse than growing old and destitute?

I have blogged about my fear of growing old and destitute many times before.

Indeed, it is this fear that helps shape the person that is AK and not just in terms of money matters.

However, what is worse than growing old and destitute?

Today, I had a chat with a fellow blogger:

FB:
Oh .. I wanted to ask a qn

Suddenly figure out the answwr

Hahahahaha sorry

AK:
LOL





FB:
Was wondering when I buy using CPF, SRS and cash

When I sell, how they know which to sell?

AK:
:o

FB:
Then I realised I put the option

Ya I know I getting stupid hahahahaha

AK:
no lah... growing older is liddat

dementia

cham liao





FB:
I still young at heart

Just old at the mind

How are u getting on

AK:
I am growing old and forgetful like u 😛

FB:
hope to catch u and others at your evening. 

I live by the day,hopefully tickets still available

AK:
I think u missed this blog:

https://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.com/2018/08/evening-with-ak-and-friends-2018-update.html






Alamak!

So, what is worse than growing old and destitute?

Possibly, being rich and suffering from dementia!

Hey, it might sound funny to some of you but I am serious hor.

OK, at least half serious.





Remember the real story of the rich old lady who was cheated of her money by some tour guide?

At least in that case, her daughter found out and took action.

Or was it her grand-daughter?

Oh, no! I cannot remember.

Anyway, how many similar cases go unnoticed or unreported?





So, what is worse than growing old and destitute?

Maybe it is not being rich and suffering from dementia.

Maybe it is from being rich and suffering from dementia to being old and destitute!

The horror!






Happy Saturday!

Related post (maybe):
CPF is all we need unless we are very rich.