How much do I need for my retirement? A simple question, but one which many, including financial advisors, struggle to answer. A rough rule of thumb used for financial planning is to assume spending in retirement to be 70% of current spending. But this is not accurate. In Singapore at least, retirees tend to spend the same amount, adjusted for inflation, after retirement as they do before retirement. This means that retirement plans need to aim higher to ensure a comfortable standard of living in retirement.

How much will I need for my retirement? A simple question, but one which many, including financial advisors, struggle to answer. The answer to “How much do I need for retirement?” has two parts. The one which is most often talked about is the asset side, how much do I need to save, invest and get in returns in order to have enough....