What happens to those who squander or simply outlive their CPF savings?
MR MUNISAMY Jeyaraman did not expect to live to be 80. When he turned 55 in 1982, he withdrew all $65,000 he had in his Central Provident Fund (CPF) account and sent the money to his wife, three children and siblings in India.
He had no other savings.
Since then, the former Public Utilities Board electrician, who lives alone in a rented one-room Toa Payoh flat, has been washing cars to support himself.
He makes $700 a month, but is so desperate to make more that he often heads down to Little India to look for odd jobs such as sweeping and gardening.
He said, frowning: 'I still need to help my family in India. I am tired. I want to retire but I have no choice.'
Mr Jeyaraman belongs to a group of older Singaporeans who are finding retirement difficult. They exhaust their CPF savings shortly after withdrawing them at 55 and have no other retirement funds to see them through. For many, the money goes into medical bills and bigger homes, social workers said.
Many also do not continue working after 55. Coupled with longer lifespans, these retirees find that their CPF is simply not enough to see them through. This is one main reason the Government is introducing the longevity insurance.
But there are also those who gamble their money away or splurge on travel and women, said Mr Wong Kwong Sing, executive director of Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre.
Ms Helen Ko, director of training and counselling at the Centre for Seniors, said she is currently counselling a woman whose husband squandered his entire CPF savings on his mistress.
'It's more common for spouses and children to approach us for help. They complain about their husbands and fathers who demand pocket money after squandering their savings on women and overseas trips.'
But there are also those for whom their CPF savings were not enough to begin with, said MP Halimah Yacob.
For these people, 'it is not a case of them squandering their money because they don't have anything to squander in the first place', she said.
Madam Nee Mohd Said, 60, for instance, withdrew $4,000 from her CPF savings five years ago and used it up in two years meeting daily expenses such as food and transport.
Now, she earns $300 a month as a sweeper. Her 55-year-old husband has not held a steady job for the past few years. His CPF savings of $1,000, which he withdrew this year, have also been used up.
With a monthly $800 housing loan to service and a $11,000 debt owing to PUB, the mother of six - with only one child giving her $100 each month - is trying to get financial help from her MP.
'What I earn is barely enough to cover my expenses. I'm suffering and there is no one else I can turn to,' she said.
Mr Koh Kim Chiam, 69, and his 70-year-old wife are in a similar situation.
The odd-job labourer, who worked as a security guard in his 40s, did not have much CPF savings to withdraw at 55. His wife, who worked for seven years as a bus conductor, had about $8,000 in her CPF account.
Their money was used to pay off loans and to finance their daily expenses.
'We knew it wasn't going to be enough. But at least I stretched it for seven years. Other people would have spent it in two,' said Madam Chan, who now runs a drink stall with her husband, barely getting by on $600 a month.
Even those who appear to have a decent amount of money in their hands and are frugal with their spending can discover they do not have enough.
Mr Ang Eng Oon, 67, a former school attendant, collected about $50,000 upon retirement.
He invested the money in an insurance policy that has been paying him $300 a month for 12 years now.
Despite living within his means, he will run out of money in three years' time.
He has not found a solution to his impending financial woes.
'I'll just have to take every day as it comes,' he said philosophically in Mandarin.
Social workers advise those who run into money woes in their retirement years to rejoin the workforce if they can. Alternatively, they encourage children to support their aged parents.
But as MP Irene Ng noted - not all of them are able to do that. 'Their children have their own families and financial commitments. Some of them have strained relationships with their children and cannot turn to them,' she added.
Mr Koh and Madam Chan, for instance, have little hope of turning to their three children for support. One is unemployed, another has a family to take care of, and the third does not even acknowledge them.
'They can't even take care of themselves, how are they to support us?'
The last option, said social worker Ms Ko, is to seek public assistance.
The Community Development Councils, for instance, provide financial schemes to help those who run out of money in old age.
But the easy way out is not for Mr Jeyaraman.
He would rather wash cars till 2am every day and eat simple food such as biscuits than depend on the state.
In broken English, he said: 'If I can work, I must work. No use sitting at home. I don't feel right asking for help.'
How three senior citizens spent their CPF savings
Mr Munisamy Jeyaraman, 80Withdrew: $65,000
Spent on: Remitted all the money to wife and three children in India.
Now: Survives on a monthly salary of about $700 as a car washer.
Madam Ho Luan Eng,Withdrew: $70,000
Spent on: Three-room HDB flat and late mother's medical bills - a total of $50,000
Now: Gets $300 from tenant and $250 from adopted daughter every month. Has $20,000 in CPF savings left.
70 Madam Nee Mohd Said, 60 Withdrew: $4,000
Spent on: Food and daily necessities over two years
Now: Draws a $300 monthly salary as a sweeper. Her husband works odd jobs to supplement the household income. They have four children aged 27 to 39.
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