(Tokyo, 2nd) Retirees should keep two things in mind: do not travel abroad too frequently, and do not overspend on grandchildren. Otherwise, just as the “second spring” of life is about to begin, half of the retirement savings could already be gone!

A retired couple in their sixties, with 38 million yen (about RM1 million) in savings and a monthly pension of 260,000 yen (about RM6,900), not only travelled abroad every year after retirement, but also took a domestic trip once a month—living out their “ideal retirement life.” On top of that, they were always generously spending on their grandchildren. Unexpectedly, within just three years, their savings dropped by 15 million yen (about RM400,000), leaving them full of regret. To avoid difficulties in later years, they reduced their travel to once every three months and instead began picnicking with their grandchildren at nearby parks and visiting libraries—shifting from indulgent enjoyment to spiritual fulfilment.

According to Japanese media “THE GOLD ONLINE,” Sasaki Akira (68, pseudonym) and his wife Reiko (65, pseudonym), who live in Tokyo, said that they both previously worked for large corporations and now receive a public pension of 260,000 yen per month. Combined with their retirement payout and savings, they had accumulated 38 million yen for retirement.

Luxury spending became the norm

Sasaki Akira said, “Our children have all moved out, and the mortgage has been fully repaid. We felt that ‘now is the time to start the second spring of life.’” The couple’s motto had always been “enjoy life to the fullest even after retirement,” and they travelled domestically once a month. In addition, annual overseas trips became a tradition.

His wife Reiko added, “We have four grandchildren, and we buy them gifts for their birthdays, school entrance ceremonies, Christmas, and even whenever we bump into them.” One day, after maintaining this lifestyle for some time, Reiko checked the balance in their account and exclaimed, “Huh… did it really decrease this much?” The 38 million yen they had saved during their working years had unknowingly shrunk by about 15 million yen over the past few years.

Of course, some of the withdrawals were planned, but the speed at which their cash was disappearing far exceeded expectations. Sasaki Akira said, “A single trip can easily cost 100,000 to 150,000 yen (about RM2,700 to RM4,000), and they also spend quite a lot on their grandchildren every month. What was originally just occasional luxury has now become part of our everyday life.”

Savings declining too quickly

Because their savings were falling too quickly, and worried that medical expenses might increase in the future, the couple reduced their travel frequency to once every three months, and also cut down on dining out and buying gifts. Although they say they do not find saving to be a burden, they admit that they wish they had balanced their expenses better from the start. “When I was healthy, I was always in a rush to spend money. But retired life is much longer than I imagined.”

Since retirement often lasts 20 to 30 years, it is crucial to find a way to enjoy life while keeping finances sustainable. “Now, we no longer travel. Instead, we have picnics with our grandchildren in nearby parks and go to the library. I feel like I finally understand that even without spending much money, we can still achieve spiritual fulfilment.”

don't worry here most people won't ever see 1million as retirement money, a no issue here.

That's why k/ say much have RM4mil only can retire.

RM1mil in japan memang x cukup


Japan minimum wage monthly is ~200k yen

38mil is just 190x of it

same like malaysia minimum wage is 1.7k

190x of it

is just RM300k+

This post has been edited by fantasy1989: Yesterday, 05:39 PM

they gt monthly pension... more like going for vacation is wat burning the capital

give proper spending breakdown.
i know girls say they poor, then buy iphone 17.

Rm6900 there a month feels just like rm2.3-2.6k a month here…

This post has been edited by max_cavalera: Yesterday, 05:42 PM

At least Japan has universal health care for all citizens to reduce their medical expense burdens. Over here, you either pay for expensive insurance with ceiling cap and unexpected hidden exclusion clauses, or prepare for a bomb expense, or prepare to wait in a long queue for critical illness treatment. Most of the biggest worry will come from unexpected medical expense in the golden years.

See the thread here:
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/5546888

Meaning you pay for expensive private insurance still not guarantee it will help you when the time comes.

That's why universal health care has some advantages.

This post has been edited by vhs: Yesterday, 05:47 PM

Here 1 millon can retire if not spending alot.

no min 5m, don't retire

actually if they have already cleared all debts, 260k/mth is cukup plus they have a tonne of savings

the issue as usual is they spent it all too fast in a short time. this is like those typical lottery winners who struck big then spent it all

Retirement used to mean slowly phase out of working life and wait for your death.

But nowdays people see retirement like some kind of YOLO phase.

The couple still got pension money on top of their savings. Oklah. Kids can still give them pocket money, so can splurge

Not bad so old still can travel.

hutang nerako kito dah mao jadi 2T.... each whorelang will owe more in future...

Tare 5mil di KL jgn retire... keje sampai matti!...

3mil bule la retire outskirts... N9,ipoh,nilai,bangi,

1mi+7K bule la retire in PUAS states...

come to Talibansia, cheap cheap here.

go jalan2 lokal more than enough dy.

how much to retire in malaysia?


This post has been edited by mrhulk: Yesterday, 08:56 PM

All in saje la

20-30 years after retirement wouldnt happen unless you are Thanos

Average 75+ years only lived

of course not enough la

you give me 5m i also say not enough

diu

The usual /k argument other country always better than us.

Do you know their universal healthcare, theres a mandatory deduction from their payslip? It almost similar to UK style healtchare insurance tax on their payslip. Mesia gomen got take % monthly from ur payslip wonot too fund our free kkm singgek healthcare?

It depends a bit on the prefecture in Japan — but here’s a typical case for a salaried worker paying for universal healthcare / social insurance in 2025. 
• For health insurance under Japan Health Insurance Association (Kenko-Hoken), the employee share is about 4.95% of standard monthly salary. 
• If the employee is aged 40–64, there is an additional long-term/nursing-care insurance charge of around 0.8% (shared equally between employee and employer).

So in the future, you ok mesia gomen take 5%+ monthly from your payslip to fund your universal healthcare that you may or may not use?

This post has been edited by max_cavalera: Yesterday, 09:30 PM

If health insurance keep going up then might as well implement this.
Save on med insurance and you can stamp out the insurance+private health care cartel that is sucking us dry

Actually like it or not, you are going to get that deduction anyway for one reason or the other. By my point was not about this. My point was the worth of that amount that they are receiving, at least that does not have the additional worry that medical expenses gonna suddenly create a huge problem for them. Meanwhile same amount of money in Malaysia will have that hidden worry. Private health care insurance could be a substitute for a national health care plan, but there is always hidden concerns that when you truly need it, you cannot get your claim unlike a national health care which do not have such conditions. We already heard how Malaysia private health care can decide for you what kind of treatment you can get, instead of what is best for you.

This post has been edited by vhs: Yesterday, 09:52 PM

I have no doubt in 5-10 years time mesia wont generate yinuf moneh to fully fund our kkm singgek annual budget expenditure.

But i think they will gradually cut ron95 subsidy in stages to cover the yearly increasing budget until absolute minimum.

Then once deficit grow larger. Theres no other choice but to charge national healthcare tax 2.5-5% from all our salary to help cover the kkm budget…

This post has been edited by max_cavalera: Yesterday, 09:50 PM

Kkm singgit only for senior citizens.
Then the young not burdended by their parent's healthcare

go retire in thailand or vietnam

lemme tell you what the real problem is
the real problem isn't money, it's mindset and perception

young people can travel just fine with minimal $$$
the problem with baby boomers is their perception of travel is shopping
that perception needs to change, you're travelling to see the world...NOT shopping

u already retired, you don't need to buy this and that for him and her

This post has been edited by MR_alien: Yesterday, 10:37 PM

Here many couple pension also don't have 1mil la.
They can't imagine that amount, can't figure how it's feel like.