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Majority of Singaporeans are racing for financial freedom by 60: CIMB survey
SINGAPORE: According to a CIMB survey that was featured in the latest CNA report, over 66% of Singapore residents intend to become financially independent and be free from money-related worries when they reach the age of 40 to 60. Of this percentage, 52% believe that they need to have more than S$1 million to achieve their goal.
In the said report, CIMB noted that 72% of those polled believe that financial freedom is a doable objective, while 43% of the respondents were confident that they can manage their finances and will be able to realise their goals.
However, many of those surveyed say that the escalating prices and other costs of living, coupled with family responsibilities and low income, are the biggest obstacles to achieving their financial targets.
While having S$1 million to reach financial freedom is a realistic target, it will all depend on the types of obligations that people have, Mr Raymond Tan, head of wealth management and preferred banking at CIMB Singapore, said.
“So, you need to balance this need for protection versus the need to start to grow your investments and take advantage of compound growth starting early, building that savings habit,” Tan further emphasised.
He also added, “It’s a learning process – so you typically start by going into lower-risk, lower-yielding investments and then as you build the experience and the confidence, you can start to move into riskier assets, which offer potentially higher returns.”
Meanwhile, Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State for Trade and Industry, made it clear that for Singaporeans to remain resilient in these tough times, the country needs to create good jobs for its citizens.
“At the same time, we need to equip our people, particularly our youths, our mid-career (workers) and even our seniors who want to have jobs to make sure that they are upskilled,” he clarified during a conversation with CIMB Singapore CEO Victor Lee.
The CIMB survey, which was conducted last December in partnership with the Nanyang Centre for Marketing and Technology, included over 500 Singapore residents aged 26 to 60.
The survey’s prominent results indicated that people under 30 felt self-assured they would attain their financial autonomy objectives; 60% aimed to be economically autonomous before the age of 40, while 54% expressed confidence in their financial management abilities.
Approximately 40% of those surveyed said they are “often” or “always” feeling apprehensive about their financial future.
Of the 71% respondents who said they had financial plans, only around half have started planning for their retirement.
Cited as barriers to retirement planning were as follows: taking care of other financial commitments, reliance on Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings, and the lack of relevant knowledge.
