A few of SHC will retire this year . Many will continue to work beyond 62. I spoke to a quite a number of people about retirement and the anwer is always, do what. We equate retirement to work. They must fill the gap between 8-6 pm . They are correct to say ,do what.
Retirement is a REWARD FOR LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT. The ah soh will say lee kong see me. OOU sala boh. Others will say a bit gila. still staying in 3 rm flat. No marcedses, no rolleck. Every day work lah . joe beh hoo.beh tahan. Let me list your ACHIEVEMENTS. This achievements is for all regardless whether you stay in hdb, condo or bangalow.
achievments
1 work hard to build a nation
2 work hard to support father,m0ther,brothers ,sisters
3 work hard to support self
4 work hard to start a family
5 work hard to buy a roof
6 work hard to pay bills and more bills
7 work hard to give our children material support
8 work hard to sent children to uni verse citi
9 we save, cut corners,cut costs and sacrifice for the family
10 if no one looking, hatam the overtime. HATAM AND HATAM LAH
Without you and your sacrifices there will be no today. No matter where you came from, all travel the same journey. I have to respect the disavantage who have to travel the long and tortuous road. others travel on highway. I know many who earn very modest income and yet manage to sent their children to university. This is not the time to tell sad story.
It is time we give honour to our SHC who will be retiring this year. A virtual ACHIEVEMENT award IS THE BEST. Achievements are not reserved for the few sucessful people.. As they say, behind every sucessful man is a lady. WEll THE ONE THAT ROCK THE CRADLE RULE THE WORLD.. As parents we give all to help our children,and family members.
I SALUTE YOU. WE HONOUR YOU. SHC SALUTE AND HONOUR YOU.
WHAT SAY YOU BROTHERS?
Chow Weng, you have exhaustively listed out the reasons why everyone has to work. In short, no one shd expect to live in our pretty neon-lit solidly materialistic city longer than the cock next crows if he’s jobless unless he has here, a Khoo, an Ng or a Lee as father. Or sugar daddy.
Thus, we have as much a choice whether or not to work as we have as a choice to live.
Greet an oncoming mrt at rush hours and put an end to the need to work. In return, you gift many people many hours of work (and so make more $ for retirement) as some will find a place to put you away, others clean up what you hv left behind, however little & worthless, even as others re-arrange buses to fetch/send stranded panicky office workers to work, they cursing you just the same without knowing you. Bcos they, by choosing to live, will have to live by the rules of the game & reaching office late isnt in the acceptable rules.
So if it comes to the Day of Retirement, it’s indeed a Day to rejoice cos you hv dared to live and taken on the harsh rules of the game which are getting more difficult for the less than privileged.
“…….THE ONE THAT ROCK THE CRADLE RULE THE WORLD.. ” Well, do I really think so?
Time has changed. To me, he who rules the world is the one holding the key to the vault where the renminbi (or yuan) is kept. I can rock the cradle higher than the playground swing but when it finally rests at equilibrium, I’ll still hv to bite my lips and stagger back to where I can find the money.
Retire or not, it’s still No Money No Honey.
You are really grim in your outlook, but then its a realistic view. See what others with rose-tinted glasses have to say to counter…
“retirement”…”fill the gap between 8-6 pm”…”do what”.
Options available : take on “part-time” wk (if money is ur concern) or “volunteering” wk (if U hv time but cant better ways 2 spend it).
“Retirement is a REWARD FOR LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT”. No, life doesnt stop here. Its wat U do after retirement tat will reap rewards. So spend precious retirement time wisely by doing sth meaningful 4 urself if not 4 others.
AnnG, how hv you been?
Hahaha, rose-tinted glasses enough meh? To be safe & sure, they’ll hv to plant 2 stalks of roses, 1 on each of the frames where the screws are, to hide the greenhorns standing above their malleable ears………
When I started work in the newspaper industry 30 years ago, I was so confident I could retire at 40. Situations change, and today, I still think I can retire at 55. But, I began to get worried at not able to sustain my life style.
So, in my case, I shall keep work, but with more time for my family and new SilverHairs friends.
I guess the future is as bright or as grim as we would see it. I would encourage, no matter what the outlook is today, look forward. Whether it is for money or for enjoying the more free time we have, there are opportunities. Look out for them.
I think the IR/tourism industry has available options. I don’t really know what they are, but looking at what Patrick Yeo, Philip Ong and Lisa say, there must be opportunities.
I encourage all who are reading the Posts on Jobs, retirement and the future to share your thoughts. Some good ideas can pop up with your comments.
Terence Seah
Hi all
We have father day, mother day , secretary day, children day, teachers day and many many day. We give them cards gifts and so many other items. That is our way of expression. At some point we have to call it a day, the boss is the boss.Same principle, we honour parents who completed the long and exhausting marathon. This time round we do it differently for our members, on the internet . After retirement life carry on. Partime work, taking care of grandchildren, holiday, hobbies, casino, punting the market etc. etc. it is a new beginning. Dont you want to express our love and apreciation . Dont assume each and everyone receive compliments, appreciation , hug and kisses for whatever they have done. Some are still singles., some heart broken, some taken for granted and some are never appreciated.There is a saying It is better to be loved than not at all.You got it! They had run a long marathon, this time they need to walk and join SHC in all activities. Working is an option at this stage.
Our country is doing very well. This time round,there are more engines of growth. First we have the chinese,then came the Indian and now phillipino in the hospitality and services sector. The job market is very tight.There will be jobs for all and for every age.IR is only a part. It is unlikely we will experience the same last shakeout. ASk your children and they tell you that there are plenty of job offers.
The greatest challenge for SHC memebers is how to RETIRE and enjoy our life. Activities are so few and limited. Looking for friends with same interest is time consuming. We spend so much time working, we forgot to prepare retirement and until we are given long service award.Have you heard of long service reward????
If not,Terence have check your I/C
I will retire about the same time as Terence. I am also doing my homework. I talk to retirees and see what they do. It is like a research.I have some ideas of the lifestyle of 80% of retirees. 20% are extraordinary.This I hope to unravel the mystery.
Hi Terence,
I think for SilverHairs it is best to park their hard earned money in fairly risk free instruments, like Treasury Notes, Bills, Money Market, Bonds, FDs, etc.
To practice trading at this age (esp. beginners) would put them at a great risk of losing their retirement funds. Afterall, there is ‘tuition fees’ to be paid for beginners in trading. We make a lot of mistakes along the way, some big some small. To trade, one must set aside that portion of the money and be prepared to take risks.
Afterall, like Tim said, we must not expect our children to look after us in our old age. But if they do, that is an added bonus.
Hi Chow Weng,
……I have some ideas of the lifestyle of 80% of retirees. 20% are extraordinary.This I hope to unravel the mystery.
Hope, you could SHARE more of the “RETIREES LIFESTYLE” you had gathered from yr. researches.
Looking 4 ward to yr post,
Steven Chan
Almost missed Chow Weng’s #6.
Hugs are made famous by bugs so can skip that. Kisses usually end up buying misses, missing the right ones but laden with the miseries one will hv to live thru.
Compliments? Worst. It’s a mouthful which, simply translated, means asking you for a favour.
Ok, the job market is very tight but when I feel my suspenders, it’s getting very loose. Competition means another hand is dipping into my chicken pie to remove the “ken”, leaving me with a chic-pie. A chic-pie smells, you know that.
Lina has safety in mind in her urge to put $ into bonds (pasla bond?) & FDs. Sadly, tho safe, they will lag far behind inflation.
Me sank into pensive mood again.
Was welling in tears this morning when I read of the dragon boat mishap. 5 young men perished. News reports of their loved ones calling out their names at the accident site was sadder than sad. A widow had worked hard finally to see her son scoring straight As and obtained a place in the varsity. Then the river took him away………forever.
Cdnt read on, had to close the morning papers.
Tim,
I read about the dragon boat mishap, but didn’t know that 5 men perished in it. There was no follow up to the news in Bangkok.It’s so tragic, but don’t be sad. That is life and as some people will put it, God’s will.