Last December, I have interviewed Mr Jimmy who is the person in charge at Evergreen Circle due to his job is most related to senior citizens. From his perspective, retirement planning is very important especially when you reached an old age as there are some limitations for you to do.

What insight that I gained from there - the importance of retirement planning. Due to the seniors who can spend their times there are mainly no financial worries. Thus, they do not have to work when they turned old.

On 22 Jan 2020, I organised a workshop for TP students on the topic of suggestions for youth to embrace the aging society in Singapore. I began the session with a short briefing on the reason for starting this project. Moving on, I shared some of my research on the population aging in Singapore with them. During the workshop, I have defined all the interviews and surveys that I have done for this project.

I showed a video clip of a movie called, “Money No Enough” with reflections from the main three characters. The purpose of showing this video was to encourage thinking about the importance of planning on retirement. The discussion revealed “Money No Enough” was a helpless feeling when we are facing the same situation as the characters in the movie. We agreed this was a common experience that might be faced by the working adults, or even for everyone. Thus, it is a good idea to plant in mind especially before we stepped in the workplace.

The heart of this workshop explored the topic of financial: CPF, investments, and insurances. From the survey that I have done among the TP students, I have identified the most important component that students choose to be an asset for the preparation of retirement is financial. Most of the comments are all related to the financial such as do investment, buy insurance and saving.

At the end of the workshop, one student asked me back whether I have any plans for my own retirement. It was a good reminder that this workshop is not only sharing the ideas with them but also for me. What did I learn from this workshop? That planning of retirement can be a very simple, yet complex topic, and there are multiple models, ways and approaches to consider. A workshop is a good introduction to the topic, however, it is just the beginning, and like any skills it requires practice.