“For once, I’m not preparing for the next emergency. I’m finally planning life on my terms.”

That was what a senior police officer told one-year MDRT member Carene Tan just before retirement — a sentiment she hears often from Singapore’s senior civil servants. After decades spent in high-pressure, public-facing roles, many approach retirement with uncertainty. They’ve spent their lives serving the nation, but have rarely stopped to plan for their own future.

After years in law enforcement, healthcare, and other demanding roles, senior civil servants often assume their Central Provident Fund Board (CPF) LIFE, a national annuity scheme that provides Singaporeans with monthly payouts for life during retirement, will suffice. But without factoring in rising healthcare costs, inflation, or personal aspirations, those assumptions can fall short. Unlike private-sector employees who may work longer or build multiple income streams, civil servants tend to retire earlier with and rely on payouts from endowment plans bought decades earlier or monthly CPF payouts. A client shared with Tan that after retirement, every expense had to be deducted from his savings, which highlights the importance of early planning.

Planning beyond numbers

Tan, who is currently serving about 180 clients, many of whom are civil servants, professionals and business owners, believes in a holistic approach. She aims to not only organize her clients’ finances, but also to give them clarity and peace of mind. Her C.A.R.E. Framework guides each client’s retirement plan:

Clarity – Many clients come in with a jumble of insurance and investment policies. The first step is consolidating everything into a single view — showing how and when funds will be paid out.

Alignment – She then aligns financial tools with lifestyle goals, such as downsizing property, caregiving, or travelling more often.

Roadmap – A structured plan follows, with milestones, buffers, and contingencies. “It’s like a GPS — you know where you are, and where you’re going,” she says.

Empowerment – Tan also focuses on simplifying complex concepts, so clients walk away with confidence. One client likened it to an annual health check: “I now know exactly where I stand, and what needs adjusting.”

“For one client — a senior uniformed civil servant just two years from retirement — we restructured his funds and created a passive income stream that would support his dream of teaching part-time. Not out of need, but by choice,” Tan recalls.

Service informed by experience

Having served more than a decade as a civil servant herself, first as a police officer in her earlier years before progressing to a policy and technology development role, Tan brings a rare level of understanding to her practice. She knows the pay structure, progression paths, and challenges this group faces — not in theory, but from lived experience.

Just as important are the skills she developed in the public sector:

Structured thinking – Each client leaves with clear meeting notes and action steps.

Problem-solving – Whether managing gaps in coverage or streamlining overlapping policies, she approaches each case like a puzzle.

Integrity and service – These values, once core to her uniformed role, remain central in her financial practice today.

Listening deeply – “Years in investigations taught me to hear what’s not being said.”

Tan remembers meeting a prospect who was interested in hearing more about the different policies she had available. She noticed some hesitation from the prospect – brushing off topics about family and having a misconception that he was “too old” to start planning. Instead of pushing forward to propose policies, Tan decided to ask the prospect what was weighing on his mind.

This question shifted the conversation and the prospect revealed that he recently had a health scare and was concerned about being a financial burden to his family in his later life – he was in a state of uncertainty and fear. With this information, Tan was then able to scrutinize passive income streams, review his existing coverage to create contingency layers, and most importantly, give him a structure that allowed him to plan his finances from a place of clarity — not fear.

A new chapter of freedom

Tan’s ultimate goal is to shift the mindset of her clients — from crisis response to proactive planning. Retirement, for this group, shouldn’t feel uncertain, according to her. It should be a season of freedom, purpose, and possibility.

“I may have swapped out the uniform, but the mission remains the same — to serve, protect, and walk alongside others through life’s transitions.”

Contact: MDRTeditorial@teamlewis.com

Search

Search

Holistic retirement planning for senior civil servants in Singapore