What happened?

A recent story about a Singaporean who retired at the age of 35 sparked plenty of discussion about what it really takes to stop working early. After losing his job, Colin Lau chose to live very simply and stopped working full time. Some admired the freedom he had created, while others questioned whether they would want the same lifestyle. The discussion also comes as Singapore’s statutory retirement age has risen to 64, putting more attention on when we choose to stop working and whether we are financially ready to do so. Retiring at 35 may not be realistic, or desirable, for most of us. But it got me thinking about a question I hear fairly often: can I retire at 50? Stopping work at 50 means potentially funding another 15 years without employment income before CPF LIFE payouts can begin from age 65. At the same time, our...