Retirement
There is too much talk about retirement. The newspaper had an advertisement with a tropical island depicting retirement. It looks as though that is a destination for the people in Singapore. The government is emphasizing that we must have enough retirement fund for our old age. It becomes really confusing...what is retirement?
If my computer becomes no longer usable, I retire it. If I feel sleepy at night, I retire in bed. The dictionary has various definitions for the word "retire". The street too defines retirement differently.
It seems to me that in Singapore, retirement means having enough money to spend for the rest of one's life. The financial aspect is heavier than the actual action of retiring from something - and that something is active employment. We are so confused - employment, income, retirement, useful work, useless work - they are all so mixed up.
My friend in their 30s are saying that they want to retire by the age of 40 or 45. To me, retirement only happens when one becomes useless, much like the computer that I retired when it no longer runs. But I know what they mean. When they said retire, they actually meant achieving a state of financial independence or freedom. In other words, they don't need to work for wages, and can still live life comfortably.
Just imagine, if one is borned with a silver spoon, and he doesn't need to work a single day to earn his living, does that mean that he is borned a retiree? No. Therefore, retirement should not be confused with the financial state of health. A person retires when he has to retire, not when he has certain amount of money. A person with that money even after quiting active employment can continue to do useful things. Likewise, a person without that money sometimes continue doing useless things just to earn himself a living.
If my computer becomes no longer usable, I retire it. If I feel sleepy at night, I retire in bed. The dictionary has various definitions for the word "retire". The street too defines retirement differently.
It seems to me that in Singapore, retirement means having enough money to spend for the rest of one's life. The financial aspect is heavier than the actual action of retiring from something - and that something is active employment. We are so confused - employment, income, retirement, useful work, useless work - they are all so mixed up.
My friend in their 30s are saying that they want to retire by the age of 40 or 45. To me, retirement only happens when one becomes useless, much like the computer that I retired when it no longer runs. But I know what they mean. When they said retire, they actually meant achieving a state of financial independence or freedom. In other words, they don't need to work for wages, and can still live life comfortably.
Just imagine, if one is borned with a silver spoon, and he doesn't need to work a single day to earn his living, does that mean that he is borned a retiree? No. Therefore, retirement should not be confused with the financial state of health. A person retires when he has to retire, not when he has certain amount of money. A person with that money even after quiting active employment can continue to do useful things. Likewise, a person without that money sometimes continue doing useless things just to earn himself a living.
Labels: Personal fianance, singapore
posted by cif5000 at 8:09 PM
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