Sandwiched generation

Was reading this https://www.asiaone.com/money/sandwich-generation-singapore-finances-caring-aged-parents-and-children

Coincidentally, this is also a topic close to my heart, as I am really part of this sandwiched generation. Uncle isn't blaming anyone, since Uncle's parents aren't well to do, and they literally gave all they have to their children, to support them and give them a head start in life, while sacrificing their own retirement resources. If they had focused on their own retirement, Uncle and my siblings would had to stop school pre-maturely to start working to fend for ourselves, likely resulting in bad outcomes for ourselves. So I thank my good parents and would always be happy to support them in their golden years. Uncle also made a choice to have children as they give me purpose in life.

So what does Uncle want to do?

My view is, as long as it's within my ability, I will strive to be the last generation of being sandwiched. This means, I will aim to be financially independent in my retirement years, with resources to take care of myself, to engage helper to take care of me, without needing any of my children to support me or my wife. This means, my adult children are no longer sandwiched. They are free to use their own resources for themselves and their offsprings, which means they themselves should be able to do their own retirement planning and thus free their offsprings from the burden of needing to support them. This is my mission now.

My mission to break this vicious cycle of sandwiching between parents and children and retirement. This will be, in my opinion, the best gift I can give to my children. Not everyone can do this, due to high cost of living here in Singapore and the high level of competition for jobs, housing etc. So Uncle is grateful for the opportunity to take a shot at this mission.

Comments

CPF balances 24 July 2024

I think for SA, my balance is considered "self-sustaining" as the 4% pa for SA could ensure my balance will continue to meet the FRS requirement every year until I reach 55. from CPF website, my SA balance already exceeds FRS for 2024. Every year, the FRS increases a little for inflation. E.g. the FRS for 2025 is 3.4% increase compared to 2024. But SA interest rate is 4%, so as long as you already reach FRS amount for current year, you will be fine I think, even if you stopped working (i.e. SA stops having contribution)

Income tax for YA2024

Lesser than previous years due to lower stock prices during vest date. Got lucky. Interest-free instalment for paying income tax spread over 12 months...about $5k per month. Quite a lot of cash outflow per month just to pay tax, but I think this is already low compared to most other countries

Getting comfortable without a salary from working

Not sure if I am there yet. Basically I am effectively drawing down my cash each month, primarily due to 2 things : mortgage and income tax mortgage (after CPF) is about $9k per month income tax is about $5k per month My investment cashflow covers all my other expenses, including utilities, groceries, handphone/internet bills, insurance, property taxes, condo maintenance fees, personal spending. With some input from wife who is still working, I am still out of pocket by almost $11k per month. She will continue to be able to save a decent sum per month and I'll let her grow that and managed it for her via safe investments. Am I comfortable? Not really. I will if I am not out of pocket per month. If I really stop working for good, the income tax amount will go to $0 after 2025. So only mortgage left We can pay off the mortgage but I think I said before, it doesn't make sense since it's our home and we will be locking the money up with little leeway to do other things. So I ...

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