As technology continues to drive the pace of progress in medical research, people are expected to have longer longevity. In fact, according to the latest World Health Statistics report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Singapore ranked third in the world for average life expectancy, behind Japan and Switzerland.
While we celebrate this achievement, we must also address the issues that come along with our increasing longevity, at both the individual and societal levels. Individuals may start to wonder how they can ensure that the additional years remain enjoyable without having to worry about forking out cash to pay for the hefty medical bills that plague the old.
Following are 3 tips that can help Singaporeans survive their retirement years:
1. Being Responsible For Your Own Health
No matter how much health insurance you get, it will not compensate for the consequences that come along with being irresponsible with your own health. This would mean having to ensure that you eat well (or learning to cook because that is the best way to control what you put into your body) and exercising regularly. Individuals should begin at a young age. For example, Singapore is the 2nd country with the highest incidences of diabetes and not only that, 30% of diabetics get diagnosed before the age of 40 years old. What this means is that you can no longer wait till you are retired before you dedicate time into exercising or taking care of your health, it starts now.
2. Ensuring You Are Adequately Insured
Private medical care can get extremely expensive in Singapore, hence it is important that you get yourself properly insured so that in the situation where you find yourself hospitalised, you will not find yourself or your family having to shoulder the hefty financial burden. Not to forget, your needs changes as you age, hence you should conduct regular reviews with your financial consultant to better understand your needs and whether you are still sufficiently covered by your insurance.
3. Planning For Your Nest Egg
With a higher life expectancy, individuals would be required to have a bigger retirement fund, or risk working for longer periods of time. Given the fact that there is no guarantee as to whether one will still be physically able to do the latter, it is therefore crucial to start planning for retirement early. As the great Albert Einstein once said “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.” Thanks to compound interest, the earlier you start preparing for your retirement, the easier it is for you when you are older.
This could be a pressing issue which might escalate further as our population ages, especially since Singapore have been experiencing low birth rate, leading to fewer younger working adults to support the older generation of retirees.
Hence, it pays to start early and put in efforts into saving and investing for your retirement. If you are still at a loss on what to do, why not download the Ottermise App which is now available on both App Store and Play Store for free! This app would be able to help you analyse your needs and figure out just how much coverage you require. Not only that, with the policy wallet feature, you would not have to deal with missing policy documents anymore as you can now store all of it in a mobile app.
Best of all, with all the information you have keyed in, Ottermise App has the ability to help you optimise your portfolio and help you save more of your current premiums! Go give it a try now!