Hi, planning for retirement at 55, invest for income from 55 - 65 yo before CPF Life payout & top-up CPF to ERS. Have some questions about possible investments?

1)What to expect for investment returns, 3%, 4%, 5% or more?
2) Invest in UT for net 4% returns after IFA's management fee or invest in low-cost funds like DFA and sell off units monthly or yearly for retirement income?
3) Are IFA insurance agent who ends up recommending insurance pdts (AVI, ML, AX etc) or are there alternatives?

For retirement planning, it will be best to place greater emphasis on tools that generate guaranteed yields. This is because our expenses (e.g. food, bills) are guaranteed. As a result, we will need a guaranteed stream of income to cover these costs.

With this in mind, you may wish to consider a life annuity that gives you a guaranteed step-up stream of income to help you cope with the rising cost of living.

For investing in unit trust, you may wish to consider lump sum investing vs dollar cost averaging: https://www.blog.pzl.sg/dollar-cost-averaging-s...

Either way, you can create a balanced portfolio and apply various investment strategies and risk management techniques that reduces the portfolio risk over time (as you inch closer to your intended retirement age).

On the whole, we need to have a complete understanding on our cashflow. Through this process, we will understand our earning ability and spending habit. Here is a guide to help you: https://www.blog.pzl.sg/understanding-your-pers...

From here, we will do a projection on your expenses and use the right tool available to help you achieve your goal in the most efficient manner.

Here is everything about me and what I do best.