DPM Gan Kim Yong at the Ready for Life Festival 2026

Colleagues and friends,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning to all of you. I am very happy to join you this morning at this year’s Ready For Life Festival.

As we work hard to provide for our families and save up for rainy days, we must also look beyond our immediate needs and plan for the years ahead.

This is especially crucial as Singapore is now a super-aged society with one in five aged 65 and above.

But the good news is that we can expect to live longer – and with Healthier SG, we also hope to enjoy healthier longevity.

Then we would have more years to spend with our families, pursue our interests, and also contribute to our community.

But to enjoy all these with confidence, we will need to plan and prepare well financially for the years ahead of us.

What we need to do will depend on our individual circumstances.

Someone receiving their first pay cheques may be learning how to spend wisely and to save and invest.

Some supporting children and ageing parents may be balancing their household expenses, while saving for retirement and ensuring that the family has adequate insurance protection.

Those already retired may be thinking about how to stretch their savings.

For some, the priority may be to review existing commitments and achieve a better balance.

Regardless of your circumstances, we want to help Singaporeans to plan for their financial future.

Through MoneySense, our national financial education programme, we provide practical guidance to help Singaporeans make sound financial decisions at different stages of their life.

Here at this Festival, you can also learn more about CPF and how to use our tools to help you plan for retirement, whatever your stage of life is. I am sure you will find something useful to help you take the next step.

Knowing where we stand

One such tool is the enhanced Retirement Payout Planner.

It takes just a few minutes to show you your projected retirement payouts and how they compare with your own retirement goals.

If there is a gap between your goal and what the actual payout will be, it will also suggest practical steps to bring you closer to the goal, such as making the voluntary top-up to your CPF.

In the first three quarters of this year, about 370,000 members made voluntary top-ups to their CPF accounts. This is around one-and-a-half times the number two years ago.

Of course, everyone’s circumstances are different. Even for the same person these circumstances can change over time.

As your needs change, you can use the Planner to adjust your personalised plans easily.

And it is free, so do give it a try later on at the Festival.

Building sound financial habits

Good retirement planning starts with financial habits we build long before we stop working.

This means setting money aside for emergencies, investing for long-term goals, and choosing insurance protection that meets our needs and that we can afford.

We need to consider all these factors alongside our day-to-day commitments.

MoneySense’s Basic Financial Planning Guide, called “Your Financial Basics”, provides useful rules of thumb on savings, investments, insurance as well as legacy planning.

Developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in collaboration with the financial industry, it is available on the MoneySense website.

The guide was recently updated to include guidance for young Singaporeans, to help them build sound money and financial habits early.

For those starting work, it is a useful place to start.

Making planning a family conversation

We also want people to feel comfortable asking questions and talking about their financial plans. Sometimes, that conversation is easier to begin with family and friends – and we can make it fun too.

CPF Board has partnered local game brand The Singaporean Dream to create a CPF Edition of The Singaporean Dream.

Through the game, families and friends can talk about their life goals and learn how CPF supports Singaporeans through different stages of life, from housing and healthcare to retirement.

From December, CPF Board will also bring the game to selected community centres.

I hope this will encourage more Singaporeans to do financial planning and understand how to make better use of their CPF savings. It is also an opportunity for different generations to come together, to learn together.

Taking the next step

We do not have to settle every question today. But I hope you can leave with a clearer picture of where you are, and what practical steps to take next.

Let us build on these steps as our life’s circumstances change, so that we can care for our loved ones today and prepare for the retirement we hope to enjoy.

I want to thank you for being here this morning, and I wish you all a meaningful and enjoyable time at the Ready For Life Festival. Thank you.