Singaporeans are increasingly aware of the need for financial savviness pre-retirement

S$2,000 a month seemed like a reasonable sum for her retirement years, but on closer scrutiny, civil servant Cindy See was surprised to find she would be needing more.

"When it was all written down, there were many small expenses I just did not take into account," said the 58-year old, who was taken aback by the amount she would have to spend on her car alone. "If you add up the insurance, car tax and maintenance, its surprisingly adds almost S$1,000 to my expenditure," said the mother of one.

Mdm See's revelation came about when she enrolled in a financial-planning programme for mature women by the Tsao Foundation, conducted in collaboration with Citi. And she is among the Singaporeans who are increasingly aware of the need for financial savvy when to comes to managing money for their retirement years - a pool that is still too small, say counsellors in the field.

Indeed, retiree Jim Then, 66, was so perturbed by the lack of money management skills among some Singaporeans he saw as a counsellor at the Centre for Seniors that he became a freelance corporate trainer in February last year offering courses on pre-retirement planning, with a component dedicated to financial management.

EMPLOYERS CAN TAKE THE LEAD

Left to their own devices, few older Singaporeans would attend courses on financial planning, said Mr Then, who was an operations director of an investment company before he became a counsellor.

"They believe that since their parents didn't do it and everything turned out fine, they do not have to worry about it too," he said, adding that he feels the onus should be placed on employers to ensure that their employees planned their finances.

Source: Today Online