ANXIETY DESPITE CERTAINTY: NAVIGATING RETIREMENT WITH THE STATE PENSION

Abstract

The study is concerned with the experiences of Singaporeans approaching retirement, detailing their unique anxieties and frustrations as they navigate the transition from working life to retired life. Adopting the work of Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner on liminality, this study aims to highlight how the clarity and comprehensiveness of the Central Provident Fund scheme has generated greater anxiety for Singaporeans navigating through this passage of life. Furthermore, I argue that in the state’s attempt to manage the neoliberal economy, it has successfully pushed the responsibility of burden care onto its citizens. As such, individuals find themselves in a precarious and liminal state when approaching retirement. It is ultimately this liminal state that causes them great anxiety.