Define your essentials

The first step is to figure out what would be the minimum cost needed to maintain your basic retirement lifestyle, including food, transport, personal insurance and entertainment. You should also factor in healthcare costs, which tend to increase with age. Long-term care has also become a necessity, with the Singapore government rolling out additional subsidies to ease this cost. 

Then there are utility bills, which have been on the rise. Consider downsizing your home if your children have moved out. A one or two-bedroom apartment with lower maintenance costs might better suit your lifestyle needs.

Even with such prudent planning, you may still worry about drawing down on your nest egg in uncertain times. One way to boost your funds is to continue working on a part-time basis. This way, you are able to continue earning a salary while allowing your capital to bounce back from a market downturn.

Determine your streams of income

Once you have identified your essentials, determine how to support these expenses. Having diversified and stable income streams is key to weathering economic turbulence.

This could mean moving some cash into endowment policies or annuities like CPF LIFE.  Endowment insurance plans offer guaranteed returns and a lump-sum payout at maturity, allowing you to grow your savings with minimal exposure to market volatility, while annuities like CPF LIFE also provide a guaranteed long-term income stream.

For Singaporeans, CPF payouts form a crucial part of retirement plans. With the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme introduced in 2021, the government matches cash top-ups made to the CPF Retirement Account. This year, it was announced in Budget 2025 that the matching grant cap was raised from $600 to $2,000. The upper age limit has also been removed, so the scheme is now available to those aged 55 years and older.

Keeping abreast of such new initiatives and changes is vital to ensure long-term financial stability. For instance, your CPF Special Account will now be closed when you turn 55, with the funds transferred to your Retirement Account. To continue receiving 4.0 per cent annual interest and higher monthly CPF LIFE payouts, you would have to top up your Enhanced Retirement Sum to $426,000. Alternatively, you can leave your funds in the Ordinary Account at 2.5 per cent interest or invest through the CPF Investment Scheme. Withdrawals are an option, but in uncertain times, CPF can be a stable addition to your retirement plan.

Emergency-proof your retirement

Prepare a safety net for uncertain times like this. Maintaining liquidity is important — an emergency fund for about six months of expenses is generally recommended — so you won’t have to resort to cashing out your investments in a bear market. It is also prudent to diversify your investments and explore lower-risk ones. These include safe-haven assets like gold, money market funds, and more defensive equities in industries like healthcare and education.

Finally, be mindful of your spending habits. This is not the time to make extravagant purchases and incur unnecessary debt, heaping stress on your retirement plans.

No matter your retirement timeline, it is wise to review your strategy regularly. Taking a safety-first approach when making adjustments can help you better weather unforeseen shocks.