‘Singaporeans have to work until they die! — SG man says, ‘It’s a damn curse of the country!’ but SG finance guru says, ‘It’s actually a blessing!’
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SINGAPORE: Is slogging till your final breath a tragic curse or a secret superpower? In a fiery encounter between a Singaporean man and financial guru Loo Cheng Chuan, they tackled a familiar local lament: “Singaporeans have to work until they die! It’s a damn curse of the country!”
But instead of sighing in agreement, Mr Loo clapped back — not with sarcasm, but with a radical reframing: “To me, work is a privilege. Not a punishment.”
Brace yourself — this isn’t your usual “retire by 40 and sip kopi by the beach” pep talk with a million-dollar man who couldn’t understand why Mr Loo still chose to work even after 50, despite being able to afford to.
“Why do you still need to work? You don’t have enough money, ah?”
At a Singtel Investor Day, a well-heeled attendee approached Mr Loo and flexed his financial muscles: “Mr Loo, I want to show you something — I already have over a million dollars in my CPF. And I’m younger than you.”
He was retired. Living the life. Sports. Tours. Relaxation. Then he looked at Mr Loo and asked in disbelief: “You’re retired also, right? Why do you still need to work? You don’t have enough money, ah?”
Wrong question. Mr Loo responded with a mic drop: “You don’t work simply because you need money. Sometimes, you work because you want to.”
That sparked a philosophical showdown. One man believed retirement = [equals] escape from suffering. The other, work = [equals] meaning and joy.
“I love quite a lot of my work…”
Mr Loo acknowledged the financial anxiety many Singaporeans carry — the terrifying prospect of living into their 80s (which is statistically likely here) with not enough money.
“If you do not have the finances to power this kind of life longevity… then clearly, you have to work. And that’s where work becomes a curse,” he said.
But he offers an antidote: Start seeing work not just as survival, but as significance.
“I love quite a lot of my work. It energises me daily, gives me meaning and purpose… It gives me a sense of contribution. And I wouldn’t give this up,” he added.
Though Mr Loo somewhat credited ginseng for his stamina, he made it clear that it was the “purpose” that fuels him more.
The curse isn’t working till you die — it’s working on something you hate till you die
Mr Loo’s core argument is that the real curse isn’t about working forever: “We should not fear working until we die. We should fear working on something that we hate until we die.”
That’s the existential crisis no CPF top-up can solve.
“If you are doing something very enjoyable, something very meaningful and purposeful… You want to work forever as long as you enjoy it,” he explained further.
His advice is to start pivoting early in life towards work you love — even if it means taking risks or making career shifts. The goal isn’t to be of no work at all, but to have freedom of choice.
Escape routes from life-sucking work
Mr Loo outlined two main escape routes from life-sucking work:
- Find a job (or start a business) that you love and pays decently: Many work into their 70s or 80s this way — not because they have to, but because they want to.
- Build multiple streams of income early: CPF Life, dividends, rental income, REITs, even room rentals or bonds, etc.
Mr Loo then revealed that, personally, “I aim to give myself maybe six to seven streams of income when I retire. I’m probably somewhere reaching there.”
Both paths allow for what he calls “true retirement” — not lounging around aimlessly, but having freedom of choice: “If you are already working on things that you like, then retirement is already here.”
“Doing nothing kind of retirement is very toxic, very deadly, very bad for health!”
Mr Loo also warned against the romanticised version of retirement that means “do nothing all day”.
He explained, “That kind of retirement is very toxic, very deadly, very bad for health!”
Instead, he advocates for “joy, purpose, and contribution” — the trifecta that fuels his current life. “If you have only financial contribution but no joy, no purpose, then switch [your work].”
Even if you can’t switch now, he urged Singaporeans to plan, save, invest, and move slowly towards a life where work is optional but meaningful.
So… “Is working until you die a curse or a blessing?”
In a powerful closing statement, Mr Loo declared: “The real question is this: Is working until you die a curse or a blessing? That’s completely up to you.”
If you’re dragging your feet to a job you despise, the curse is real. But if you’re waking up with fire in your spirit, then working till your final breath isn’t so tragic as it’s believed to be.
“Having the blessing to be able to work until I die is something I live for and I work towards,” Mr Loo concluded.
Just enjoy your work… one day at a time.
Work till you die might sound like a grim fate… but work that fuels your spirit is a life worth living — even with or without the ginseng add-on — just enjoy it one day at a time.
🎥 Watch the full video below by Mr Loo and hear it from the man himself for the fiery debate, philosophy, and strategy breakdown: