Retiring with Grace?

A Singaporean reporter Lorna Tan did a story on "Retiring without Tears".

It is a very practical treatise and we should all read it with reflection.I have paraphrased wherever required to capture the gist of her arguments.

" More Singaporeans are facing the grim reality of retiring later or having to lower their lifestyle expectations when they do retire. This is partly because they fail to plan early for their retirement, if at all.

Recent surveys on retirement have indicated that the majority of people are unprepared for retirement.

An annual Future of Retirement study from HSBC - It's Time To Prepare - has found that an alarming 91 per cent of Singaporeans do not have any idea what their retirement income would be, and only 9 per cent are prepared for this phase of life.Truly sad....

In addition, while 39 per cent feel that they understand their short-term finances very well, only 23 per cent can say the same about their long-term finances.

HSBC Singapore's head of personal financial services, Mr Sebastian Arcuri remarks: 'The lack of understanding and knowledge of long-term financial milestones like retirement could be intensified by the current economic downturn, which may have led more Singaporeans to divert their attention to short-term survival needs instead of their long-term goals.'

Last month, HSBC launched a free retirement planning service for its mass affluent customers who have at least $200,000 with the bank.

Thus, to improve the prospects of a comfortable retirement, one cannot afford to delay reviewing one's retirement nest egg. Here are some considerations. [listed out by Lorna.]

1 Retirement age

For a start, it is important to determine at just what age you hope to retire in order to work towards retirement goals, said Mr Ho Kien Hung, a manager at Alpha Financial Advisers. The earlier a person does this, the more time he has to plan, and to resolve any hiccups along the way.

Failing to plan for a specific retirement age may result in a person procrastinating over his retirement plans and ending up with not enough savings to retire comfortably, or having to continue working even after reaching the desired retirement age.

2 Years of retirement

This refers to the length of time that you require your retirement funds to last.

Of course, to some extent, this is in the lap of the gods. [Oh,sure!]

But based on current statistics and the retirement age of 62, most Singaporeans can expect to live a further 20 to 30 years after retirement.

According to statistics from the 2008 World Population Data Sheet, the life expectancy is 78 for Singapore males and 83 for females.

You should also take your family's medical history into account. Given advances in medical science, people are living longer and it would be wise to make provisions for additional years of retirement, said Mr Arcuri.

Mr Darren Lim, 78, wished he had done all this.

When he retired from his job as a tennis coach at 60, he never thought he would live past 70. By the time he was 70, he had used up his retirement nest egg and is now depending on his son for monthly cash handouts.

3 Retirement lifestyle

A comfortable retirement means different things to different people. Your expectations of just what a comfortable retirement will look like affects how much you need to set aside for your nest egg, said Mr Arcuri.

For instance, if you plan to travel around the world when you retire, you are likely to need more income than someone content to pursue hobbies and activities that are easier on the pocket.

The choice of which country to reside in is also a consideration, as the cost of living in some neighbouring countries is much lower than in Singapore.[This is a cheeky one!]

Here are some questions you could ask yourself. Do you still plan to work? Do you plan to go for an annual holiday? Would you consider downgrading to a smaller car or even switching to public transport?

Such retirement lifestyle requirements would help to determine the bare minimum sum one needs for a retirement nest egg, said Mr Albert Lam, investment director at IPP Financial Advisers.

4 Inflation

You cannot ignore the impact of inflation, which is the increase in the general price level of goods and services. This is because inflation adversely affects the purchasing power of your money.

For example, based on an average annual inflation rate of 3 per cent, $1,000 today would be worth only $642 in today's terms in 15 years' time. As a result, a retirement income that is enough to sustain you in your first year of retirement may be insufficient by the 10th year, said Mr Arcuri.

5 Financial commitments

Consider what your likely monetary commitments in retirement are. With more people marrying and starting a family later, you need to consider whether your house would be fully paid off by the time you retire, and whether you still need to support your children in their studies, said Mr Ho.

Other dependants may include aged parents, said Mr Arcuri. If so, you would need to ensure that your retirement income also caters to their needs.

6 Medical expenses

Studies have shown that medical expenses are substantially higher in the last years of life. As they have the potential to put a major dent in your financial security, medical insurance plans that can take care of health-care related expenses should be considered.

Mr Christopher Tan, chief executive of wealth management firm Providend, says that when working out your retirement income, take into account the premiums of medical plans and other insurance policies that you still need to pay beyond your working years.

7 Leaving a legacy

Be it a desire to leave an inheritance to the next generation or a charitable bequest, your legacy plans would also determine how your retirement portfolio is structured. In either case, a portion or all the capital has to be left untouched, said Mr Arcuri. Hence, you would need to make provisions to ensure that the earmarked assets would not be drawn down to fund your retirement.

8 Existing assets and post- retirement income

When working out your retirement income needs, consider your existing assets as well as future income streams. For instance, you can project the values of assets, like your Central Provident Fund savings, insurance policies, unit trusts, bonds, shares, properties and even antiques, till retirement, said Mr Ho.

You may also receive post-retirement income in the form of pensions, annuities or property rentals."

So after reading all these points and arguments,how many of us can really retire with grace?

Another Malaysia Boleh for the Local Guinness Book of Records

Look at this picture. Look how large is this garland;fit for a God. No wonder PM Najib is having one hearty laugh! He must truly be God-like to wear this well. One more for the local Guinness Book of Records.

Three shouts of Malaysia Boleh for PM Najib, every one!

Another Twist to the English Issue

What a laugh. We are at it again.

In an apparent response to the just concluded illegal demonstration by the SMK Sri Hartamas Parent-Teacher Association (PTA),DPM Muhyidden has added some Ajinomoto again to this continuing issue. Handing a laurel of peace, Muhyuddin says all students who began studying Mathematics and Science in English could continue to do so until they finished their secondary school education.

He said even his Cabinet colleagues are worried about this and assured all concerned parents that their children could continue to study in dual language until they complete their entire primary and secondary education.

“We have discussed the matter,” he told Malaysian journalists covering his five-day working visit to Perth which ended today.

Muhyiddin said that students who had started learning the two subjects in English would continue to be taught in English, and have the option and freedom of answering examination questions in either Bahasa Malaysia or English.

It's just one big merry-go-round

So its Malaysia Boleh lagi for English!

The Sun rise on RCE

RCE Capital Bhd is on the go again.

It posted 36% higher net profit of RM18.5mil for its first quarter to June 30 against the previous corresponding period, boosted by greater demand for personal financing in the credit cooperative market.

Revenue jumped 42.2% to RM66.98mil from a year ago. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, RCE Capital said the group’s net loans receivables grew from RM754.4mil to RM1bil, representing an increase of 32.7% compared with the previous corresponding period.

What does analysts say about the RCE results?

First, the earnings, together with revenue and loan portfolio growth were within their expectation. Net loan receivables showed robust growth, up 5% qoq and 33% yoy, to RM1bn. As expected, RCE's growth rate was very much in-line with Bank Rakyat's growth, which is also a loan provider to government servants via cooperatives. Annualising its 5% qoq loan growth, the expected full-year net loan receivables will grow possibly by 15-20%.

Secondly, there are many RCE shareholders out there who are not too happy with the recent private placement at 55sen,a 10% below the 5-day weighted average price of 61sen benefiting only the ones who took the shares. Their unhappiness could be myopic as in the MID to LONG TERM, it is good for them as it provides the necessary capital for RCE to fund its trajectory loan growth. Raising new loans, ie ABS, will be difficult and will take at least 6 months in the current credit environment. The placement price could definitely have been better. Anyway this placement price is a good 22% above its latest NTA of 45sen. With a high ROE of 20-25%, the new capital will be well deployed and earnings enhanced for all shareholders.

Thirdly, valuation is undemanding; RCE has a market cap of RM450m++ and with expected net profit of RM74-76m for FYE03/10, share price is valued at 6x. Share price could rally tomorrow based on this excellent set of results.

Let us see whether the market will respond positively tomorrow.

The Miss Universe Contest in the Bahamas

Let's have a respite here.

Look at the picture of these three pretty competitors for the Miss Universe contest in the Bahamas. The one on the left is Miss Puerto Rico and on the right is Miss Mexico. Miss USA is standing in the middle. Aren't they all heavenly creatures?


And there are some more here, on the beach and a few having a dip in the glassy sea.

Don't Say Sayonara!

A beautiful love story released in 1957, Sayonara is a classic film showcasing the clash of cultural values between Americans and the Japanese.The main theme of the film is the romantic liaisons between American servicemen on R&R and local native girls in post-war Japan.

In the midst of the continuing but subdued enmity between these two people, came Major Lloyd Gruver played by Marlon Brando and his love for the enigmatic Hana-Ogi,an adorable and charming entertainer performing for a Takarazuka-like theater company,played desirably by Miiko Taka.

The story starts on a strong footing. Kelly (Red Buttons),an enlisted man once under Gruver's command in Korea, marries a Japanese woman, Katsumi, in spite of the disapproval of the United States military, which will not recognize the marriage. The Air Force, including Gruver, was against the marriage. Gruver and Kelly had an argument where Gruver uses a racial slur to describe Kelly's fiancee, but Gruver apologized, then agreed later to be Kelly's Best Man at the wedding.He then meets the elusive Hana-Ogi through Kelly and Katsumi. Resolving any difference they had, it was then on, romance in the moonlight and shadows for the secret lovers.It was sublimal!


There is so much magic and bravado that you will root for the American servicemen and their spouses/girlfriends as they fight against the might of the American army psyche and bigotry which is dead-set against liaisons of any kind with native girls; much less anyone who has married them or intending to. The ruling at that time was no foreign Japanese wives could be brought back to the US if these servicemen get transferred back to Stateside. If they should go against such transfer order, they will be court-martialed. Kelly and Katsumi killed themselves in an honourable double suicide in a desperate way to end their impasse, not knowing that Congress was soon to pass a law allowing American servicemen to bring back their Japanese wives back to the States.

The suicide of Kely and Katsumi was to strengthen Major Gruver's resolve to marry his Japanese lover. He confronts Hana-Ogi in Tokyo and demanded that she make up her mind whether she wants to marry him or not. "I will be outside your door," he tells her.

In a parting scene before the credits roll,when asked by a Stars and Stripes reporter what will he say to both the "big brass" as well as the Japanese,if the rumours were true that he intends to marry Hana-Ogi, Major Gruver has this to say:"Tell them I said 'Sayonara.'

So the 64,000 dollar question will be: Will Hana-Ogi marry Gruver? That is for you to find out!

You will assuredly be entertained to such delightful music by the maestro, Irving Berlin and Sayonara under the masterful direction of Joshua Logan is magical. I did learn a lot from this movie,the looks of post-war Kobe and Tokyo and the Kabuki theatre. What a joy of a movie.

Excellent movie. Unrivaled to this day.

"Great Train Robber" Biggs is Finally Released!

August 7 was a great day for Britain’s “Great Train Robber” Ronnie Biggs. He was officially released! Biggs stole the equivalent of $50 million (RM175 million), the biggest heist in those days, 46 years ago. He was freed early from prison on compassionate grounds as he lay in hospital gravely ill.

Biggs was a household name, a modern Robin Hood until his capture. He spent 35 years on the run, won notoriety and some popularity for his ingenuity in evading capture and for cheekily thumbing his nose at the law from sun-soaked beaches.

Biggs, frail and sick with pneumonia, will celebrate his 80th birthday on Saturday with friends and family – 46 years to the day since the heist.

With 11 other gang members, Biggs robbed a Glasgow-to-London mail train in 1963 and stole £2.6 million (RM15.2 million), which is about £30 million (RM175.3 million) in today’s money. The crime became known as “The Great Train Robbery”.

Train driver Jack Mills was hit with an iron bar by an unknown member of the gang and never fully recovered.

Biggs was caught and convicted the following year but escaped from prison after just 15 months using a rope ladder that dropped him on to the roof of a waiting van.

Following his escape, he spent decades as a fugitive, moving from Australia to Panama and Venezuela, before ending up in Brazil, where his playboy lifestyle and cocky defiance of the British authorities made him a criminal legend.

He was tracked down in 1974 by a British newspaper, but narrowly escaped extradition from Brazil because his girlfriend, stripper Raimunda de Castro, was pregnant.

Now 79, Biggs returned to Britain voluntarily in 2001 and has been in jail.

The government approved his release after being told he was unlikely to recover, reversing its decision last month to refuse him parole on the grounds that he had not shown remorse.