Image Source: https://www.cnbc.com
I was randomly scrolling through the CPF website yesterday and found something very interesting. They have recently performed a Trend Analysis of CPF members’ Balances based on Gender, and they did a comparison between the CPF balances of males and females and how the workforce has changed since 2006 till 2016.
If you look at modern society right now, it is not uncommon to find a dual-income household. Gone were the days of stereotypes when the man is assumed to be the sole breadwinner of the family and the woman has to cook and clean. While this kind of arrangement could be possible until the generation of my parents, it has become more and more difficult to survive on a single income due to the Inflation monster.
Because apparently, our salaries don’t always grow as much as inflation.
According to the report, the amount of active female participation in the workforce increased by more than 40% over the last 10 years. What really impressed me was the increase in the average OASA balances of these females to a sizable amount of 50% for ages 25-30, the category that I fall into.
If this still doesn’t convince you that we females are doing better for retirement (with the CPF), check out the chart that shows the disparity between the total OASA balances of males V.S. females. The differences aren’t too far from each other, with disparity averaging at around 50% for year 2016.
Do you know what this means?
It means that we are nearly as financially wealthy as men when it comes to our CPF funds. As a female myself, it is comforting to know that there more females out there that value working, and are being more and more self sufficient in preparing for their retirement.
Why is this important to me?
There are a few ways to attain wealth, and for women, one of the more sought after ways is to marry it. There are many women whom I personally know that rely 100% on men on their finances, my own mum and aunt included.
I know that choosing to marry into wealth may not necessarily be a bad thing. But there are two questions that I would like you to answer before considering this option.
- What are the chances of that happening?
- What will happen to you when shit happens?
What are the chances of that happening?
To marry wealth, obviously you would have to find wealth. And the truly wealthy is only 1% of the population. Statistically speaking, you would have to date a 100 men to find Prince Richy Charming.
And how would you know that you would have chemistry with this… Prince Richy Charming? What if he doesn’t seem to appeal you in any way except for how full his pockets are?
Okay I know. Date another 100 men and find the next one.
What will happen to you when shit happens?
Let’s say you’re lucky. Really, really lucky, and you find Prince Richy Charming in your early 20s. You managed to have a good life through your 30s and 40s, get married, have two lovely children and live happily ever after like in the fairy tales.
Or do you? Let’s see.
One fine day, Prince Richy goes to the doctor and gets diagnosed with cancer, and can only survive for the next 6 months. A hell lot of money for (your) retirement has to be spent on his medical bills because he wasn’t well insured. After he passed on, you were also left handicapped with a stop to the monthly income, since there is nobody working.
You think this is a sad ending? Well what if he didn’t die instead, but both of you realized one day that your marriage wasn’t going to work anymore because he had an affair. Similar to the previous scenario, you are left alone again to manage your future finances, with the two kids under your custody as financial dependents.
As pessimistic as the tone of this article may be, I hope you managed to understand the underlying message that I was trying to drive at. And it could happen either way, not just with females.
Even if you were left with some amount of inheritance, with poor financial literacy, how would you be able to manage that money so that it can work for you?
We, as women (and men, if you can relate), should rely purely on ourselves when it comes to our finances. Just like how they say you should always trust yourself when it comes to investing. And I know that we can do it, because I, and many other female financial bloggers (here and here) do it too. 🙂
Thanks for reading!
Miss Niao xoxo
Miss Niao's Financial Journey (and other random stuff) 
Yes I saw this article too! It’s really heartening to read that women are taking charge of our own financial independence and to be honest, I think the guys also feel relieved to a certain extent that they are not too overly relied on financially.
But I think that this is also a result that women are in the workforce, and that we are contributing to our CPFs hence the higher proportion. And there’s as many female graduates as male graduates nowadays so I guess the proportion seems kind of even out.
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Yes! A lot of working environments have changed to incorporate work life balance and other benefits for females. Maybe that is why the numbers have been increasing. I believe the guys would have more compliments than complains :p
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Hi missniao,
One is more likely to find a Prince Richly Ugly than Charming!
In the second scenario of a divorce, the female gets 50% of his assets + monthly upkeep until she remarries.
I’ve heard and known of a few richly divorced women. But then again, if she could not manage the wealth, her finances will still go downhill.
Regards,
Matthew
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Very hard to find someone who is filthy rich and also handsome meh? 😛
Really? According to Kenneth, he told me that alimony is dependent on the length of marriage. So if your marriage is very short, then maybe there might not even be a need to pay it. Maybe it varies. But definitely cannot siam for child monthly expenditure.
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hmm… is Ben Goi your kind of handsome?
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Just for confirmation, are you referring to this dude in the photo? http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/former-actress-tracy-lee-marries-popiah-kings-son-ben-goi
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Stats don’t lie. It just how we want to interprete them.
This is my take.
In the 25-30 band, most men just started work two or two and half year later than women because of National Service. Another reason could be traditionally , men pays more if not all from their CPF for their marital homes (HDB flats) down payment. As years gone by, more and more women would leave the workforce to tend to their families. Thus men contributed more to CPF as against women.
Marrying into wealth is one thing. Another is the gamble to ensure that your mind is able to prevail over your heart when choosing your mate. A wrong choice or bet can be disastrous, for some, it can mean a lifetime of misery and suffering from abuse, mistreatment and cruelty. Some adroit ones make a right choice, gotten a right one( and vice-versa) and live happily ever.
Haha, my one cent…
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Hello Fred,
Yes, your take could be true too. I guess a more accurate way to look at the stats here is the changes in disparity from ten years ago v.s. last year.
Proves that the odds are just lower, doesn’t it? When it comes to love, the answer is not as straightforward as mathematical equations.
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