In her keynote speech at the Singapore Actuarial Conference 2025, Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB) CEO Melissa Khoo referenced the theme of the event, "Clarity in Uncertainty: An Actuary's Home Ground".
“As our operating environment shifts, a key question for us is how to change in good times and in good times, instead of waiting for a crisis to happen, said Ms Khoo in her keynote speech.
Uncertainty linked to ageing
The first driving force in the operating environment shift Ms Khoo touched on was the changing demographic in Singapore, with the mention that the country will “become a super aged society by next year”.
She also noted that the term was defined by the United Nations as countries where more than one in five of the population is 65 years or older.
“By 2030, this proportion will climb to one in four compared to major economies,” she said.
The uncertainty this phenomenon brings is related to shrinking family sizes, and expectations of a growing reliance on CPF as the foundation of retirement security.
“For example, our retirement and health study has shown that contributions from family and friends has fallen significantly. By contrast … regular CPF payouts to retirees has grown significantly over the same time period,” she said.
The second force Ms Khoo highlighted was healthier longevity.
“Health-adjusted life expectancy at birth has risen over the years,” she said, noting that this trend necessitates a shift to a more positive narrative of ageing, which includes wealth and productive longevity, which she called “successful ageing”.
Suggestions to raise clarity in uncertainty
One of the recommendations Ms Khoo made to raise clarity in uncertainty linked to ageing was the promotion of longevity education.
She said, “For example, our headline figures for life expectancy are always taken at birth. But people may not realise that what is more useful for retirement planning is life expectancy at 65.”
Another example she cited was helping Singaporeans appreciate the difference between lifespans, such as understanding the impact of a longer lifespan spent in poorer health.
Additionally, Ms Khoo believes many are underestimating costs related to retirement.
“But retirement literacy means that we need more Singaporeans to appreciate effective accumulation,” she said, pointing out that insurers and members of the financial planning community could collaborate with the CPFB to raise the retirement literacy of Singaporeans and educate members on the need of effective accumulation.
“A lot of our current communication efforts by financial institutions tends to be skewed towards wealth accumulation and preservation, with relatively less emphasis on accumulation strategies,” she said.
The Singapore Actuarial Conference 2025 runs from 25-27 August in Singapore, with Asia Insurance Review as the official media partner.