Why do many people struggle after retirement?

COMMENT | I read an article recently about how most Malaysians cannot afford to retire. According to the article written by an economist, the current Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings for most Malaysians are barely enough for a decent life after retirement.

I do have many elderly relatives who are struggling after retirement, having to find part-time jobs as security guards, shop assistants or Grab drivers. Many of them also turn to their children to make ends meet.

But I do wonder, if it is true that life gets difficult after retirement, why is the inability to support themselves not affecting everyone below the lower medium class threshold?

My dad, for example, chose to retire at the age of 55. Coming from a family of more than a dozen members who survived on the salary of a rent collector and a shopkeeper, he was denied his dream to become a doctor. Not only did my dad not obtain any degree, he also did not have a wealthy family to inherit anything from.

For thirty years, my dad worked as a clinic assistant in a steel factory in Butterworth. Having to manage a household with his small salary, despite his love for children and his dream to have lots of them, mom and dad opted to have only three – as that was all they could afford.

However, they ended up taking in two more members under their care – mom’s little sister and dad’s niece – to assist their own family members who were struggling to make ends meet at the time.

With seven members under one roof, dad was very meticulous with his money. I remember him giving me rubber bands when I complain of my loose pair of socks and helping me to tie my schoolbag (which used to be his old briefcase) with strings when the locks stopped working.

I also remember him getting chicken from the wet market when my brothers and I request for KFC and murtabak from Jelutong when we asked for pizza. He was always calculative with his money...