NST - 12 March 2007 - Get a head start for twilight years - A LIFE of comfort and good health in retirement is not beyond the average Malaysian executive despite cases of some who ended penniless after wasting their Employees’ Provident Fund savings in poor investments. Financial experts say prudent investments in sound financial instruments can yield handsome returns in old age. ANIS IBRAHIM, SUGANTHI SUPARMANIAM, HEIDI FOO and PRESENNA NAMBIAR have the stories.CAN a 35-year-old Malaysian executive earning about RM4,000 a month afford a comfortable lifestyle after retirement at 55? This is a question often on the minds of those on the threshold of middle age but which seldom yields a definite answer. Yes, it is possible to live the same lifestyle in 20 years’ time but it is going to cost a bomb. One will need to have between RM1.4 million and RM2.8 million at retirement to maintain the same lifestyle depending on which financial planner one talks to.Besides inflation, which will reduce the amount of items one can buy in 20 years with the same amount of money available today, there is also the astronomical cost of medical treatment in old age. Malaysians will have to bear much higher medical costs in the twilight of their lives, especially so in the light of the longer life expectancy of Malaysian men and women of 72 and 76 respectively. The next is to identify the financial instruments to be used to accumulate between RM1.4 million and RM2.8 million by 2027. Some financial planners say one should put aside a third of the monthly income — or RM1,300 for a person taking home RM4,000 a month — for investments. All told, the average 30-something Malaysian in the private sector cannot depend on his EPF savings to ensure a comfortable lifestyle in retirement. Fuiyyoo .. this is insane .. what planet did this planner come from? How much could one SAVE per month, as it stands now? Realistically ... what about the pensioners, and the low income group. They would probably starve to death or we might get an exponential increase of beggars on the streets. Sounds scary, don't you think. Better save EVERY penny NOW!! Even NOW, I wonder how people in KL cope. I was at a mamak restaurant in KL some time ago and had a cup of 'teh tarik', something that would cost RM0.60 in Penang. I gave the teller RM1.00, and waited for my change. So there was a brief moment when I kinda looked at him, and him, me. Then he asked for another RM0.20, making that cup of tea RM1.20!! It cost half the price in Penang. Do people earn more in KL?? Aiyaaa .. tak tau lah ...
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