Hi, I'm 29M and planning not to retire in Singapore. What should I do if I want to plan for retirement? Should I still top-up my CPF SA?

Keeping money in a high-interest savings account is safe but might not beat inflation over the long term. It's good for emergency funds and short-term goals, but not the best for long-term retirement planning.

Hi Buddy!

there are few aspects to this. Are you planning to retire at the age of 55/60 or planning to migrate earlier and gradually retire in another country?

option 1: retiring at an old age in another country. well, it depends on the country's law. For instance, if you want to get a retiree visa in Thailand, there are some criteria you need to fulfil. I think one of it is to have a certain amount in bank balance and the retire visa can cost you a certain amount as well. if you want to retire in Aus, there are different criteria as well. You can check it up on the respecrive country's immigration website for visas.

option 2: well, migrate earlier and gradually retire. If you've well decided that you are going to retire elsewhere. Migrating at a young age will be a good option as well. for instance, Aus welcomes young adults below the age of 45. in fact, you're the most welcome age group (26-33). they have a points based system to be eigiblie for PR visa. While working, you can get pension benefit. You've to have lived there for atleast 10 years for pension benefits. their pension scheme starts from the age of 66 with varying amounts for each individual.

coming back to your qn about cpf top up and high savings account.

if you move to another country, you can open their savings account there. for instance, there is comm bank smart saver account in Aus which is a high yield savings account.

as for cpf top up, try to top up some amount each year. Since you're young, you have about 20 years more for compounding to do it's magic.

for example if you are Not going to buy any house in sg.

right now- assuming-

OA: 60,000

Sa: 30,000

transfer 40k to SA

SA: 70k

top up about $6000 per year till the age of 55, your total amount will be 446K. After the cpf minimum sum when you reach 55, that is in year 2046, you can withdraw the rest.

moral of the story- try to see cpf SA as an investment tool that yields guaranteed 4% for 25 years.

The argument will be can I invest $6000 per year elsewhere for better returns? yes.

I am in the process of planning to move/migrate as well, I am using cpf SA in this way. So that I can max the money in SA. Additionally as much as I am planning to migrate, I keep my options wide so that if anything happens in that country, I can still move back to sg.

so good luck buddy.