The real retirement crisis isn’t the amount you need - it’s that traditional retirement is dead.

Everyone’s debating S$550K vs S$1.87M, but I think we’re asking the wrong question entirely:

“Retirement” is a 20th century concept that makes no sense in 2025. The idea of working 40 years then stopping completely was designed for industrial workers with 10-year post-retirement lifespans. Now people live 30+ years after “retirement” with rapidly changing skill requirements. The binary work/retirement model is obsolete.

Singapore’s wealth inequality makes these averages meaningless. The S$550K figure assumes you’ll be content living like a struggling retiree, while S$1.87M assumes you want to maintain wealthy lifestyle. But the real issue is that Singapore’s cost structure is designed to extract maximum wealth from residents through housing, healthcare, and consumption taxes. You’re not planning for retirement - you’re planning to keep paying the Singapore premium forever.

Both numbers ignore the biggest risk: currency and political stability. Singapore’s wealth is built on being Asia’s financial hub, but that advantage is eroding. Hong Kong’s decline, China’s direct market access, and potential geopolitical shifts could dramatically change Singapore’s economic model. Your S$1.87M in SGD might buy a lot less in 20 years.

The wealthy respondents are suffering from lifestyle inflation delusion. They think they need S$1.87M because they can’t imagine living without private healthcare, domestic help, and luxury consumption. But true financial independence means being able to live well on less, not needing more to maintain status.

My contrarian advice: Don’t plan for retirement in Singapore at all. Build location-independent income and global assets. The real number you need is zero - if you’re geographically flexible and income diversified.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​