← Charles Tay Learning in public ·

Four things to build early

Money, meaning, people and health in later life. What the evidence says, and what I’m starting now.

the short version

  • Retirement planning usually means one number: how much money. I wanted to check what else decides how the later years go, so I read the public research.
  • Four things kept coming up: a monthly income, something worth getting up for, people you’re close to, and health. The last three also decide how far the money goes.
  • None of them can be built in a hurry at 65. So this page is what I’m starting on now, and where each claim comes from.

the four

  • 1
    money

    A monthly income, not just a total

    found
    CPF LIFE pays a monthly income for life from 65. The Standard plan pays the same amount every month. The Escalating plan rises 2% a year but starts lower. A home can be worth a lot and still pay nothing each month.
    doing now
    Planning in monthly income, and checking the years before the first payout.
    learned
    Count the monthly cash, not the net worth.
  • 2
    meaning

    A reason to get up

    found
    Mostly my own experience. In my year out in 2025, the hard part wasn’t the money. It was a week with nothing in it that someone else had planned. Going back to class fixed that.
    doing now
    Keeping a few projects that run on my own schedule: songs, videos and this site. Giving time, not only money.
    learned
    Practise planning your own week before you have to.
  • 3
    people

    Connected, not just surrounded

    found
    The US Surgeon General’s 2023 advisory puts the mortality risk of social disconnection on par with smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. In Singapore, a Duke-NUS study found that lonely 60-year-olds can expect three to five fewer years free of limits on daily activities. About one in three older Singaporeans say they feel lonely.
    doing now
    Turning a few work contacts into friends while I still see them every week. Keeping up with the apps my circles use. Building more than one circle.
    learned
    Friendships take years. Start them before you need them.
  • 4
    health

    The last decade costs the most

    found
    Singapore leads the world on healthy life expectancy, yet the average resident still spends about 11 years in poor health: about 12 for women, 10 for men. The national guidelines suggest 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity a week, strength work on two days, and balance training for those 65 and up.
    doing now
    Walking, with other people where I can, so it counts for people as well.
    learned
    A habit is easier to start before the first injury.

Sources

Credit: the learning on this page started with Wilfred Ling of ifa.sg, my personal adviser for investment and retirement planning. The figures above are from the public sources listed, and the “doing now” lines are mine.

A personal note, not financial or medical advice.

More learning in public: six months of teaching myself AI and I learn by trying things.