How much does one need to prepare for old age?

Life is always very impermanent and unpredictable. Anticipating the risks of old age after retirement is not simple because each person faces different challenges. To answer the question "What do I need to prepare for old age?", I would like to mention two cases that happened in my family so you can better understand what may happen in the future.

My father turns 100 years old this year. His pension is currently VND4.3 million a month (it took many increases to get to that point). My father lived a long life, which is something to be happy about, but along with that comes some worries. It can be said that my father had huge medical expenses. From the age of 90 until now, the amount of money we have had to spend to take care of his health has cost about VND1 billion.

Last year alone, my father had to be hospitalized and have surgery, which cost more than VND300 million. Currently, each month my father's health care and medicine costs are about VND20 million. Luckily, he has many children and all of us are financially capable of taking care of our parents. With his pension alone, it isn't enough to do anything.

Another case is my uncle. He is 98 years old this year but still very healthy. From childhood until now, he has never been sick enough to have to go to the hospital. Currently, he can still take care of his daily activities without having to ask his children for help or rely on anyone.

His pension is similar to my father's, about VND4.5 million a month. However, thanks to his good health, the money is enough for his spending. He has even been able to save a little money from time to time.

I want to say that the life of the elderly after retirement is very unpredictable and not everyone is the same. Among them, the biggest risk is health problems. Living a long life is a good thing, but it is only a blessing when you are healthy and your children and grandchildren can take care of you.

When it comes to retirement planning, workers in Vietnam often focus mainly on the goal of saving enough money to ensure their standard of living. However, they often ignore some other financial needs that may arise after retirement, such as inflation and medical costs.

What have you prepared for your old age after retirement?