IT is never too early to start preparing for retirement. That was what How Chee Kong, a 28-year-old engineer, realised after taking part in the What’s Adam’s Number Challenge, a retirement-savvy contest by Prudential Assurance Malaysia.

The online contest, which required participants to calculate the retirement number for Adam, the character in the contest using the retirement calculator and to key in their answers in the website after reading the weekly clues. The first participant with the correct answer won the contest.

“Initially, I thought the answer was all guesswork and I had to depend on luck to get it right.

“Then I realised that I had to calculate the answers with the help of the clues,” he said.

Despite being an engineer and having dealt with numbers all of his life and at work, How admitted that finding the answer was tough. The answer was actually the amount of money the character in the contest, Adam, needed for his retirement.

Here you go: Oropeza (left) talking to How while the company’s brands and communications assistant director Fiona Liao (right) congratulates consolation prize winner Poon Kum Loon.

“By using the retirement calculator for myself, I believe savings alone would be insufficient to secure a comfortable life upon retirement.

“I guess a portfolio of diversified investments is needed for me to come close to my ideal retirement lifestyle,” How said.

When asked for the estimated figure that was ideal for his own retirement, he said it would be about RM1mil.

Chow won RM100,000 worth of retirement plans from Prudential, giving him at an early start in his own retirement plan.

The prize was presented by Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad chief executive officer Charlie Oropeza.

The other winners are Jonathan Ooi, Ng Wei Hang, Chua Kwee Sung, Sim Ai Lan, Soon Keat Loo, Poon Kum Loon, Lim Kok Lin and Lim Yoke Wen. All received RM12,500 each in retirement plans.

How keyed in his answer exactly one minute after midnight on Dec 23, after the last clue to Adam’s number was revealed while the other eight consolation winners keyed in their final answers within 30 minutes.

Oropeza said the contest was held as part of Prudential’s effort to better educate Malaysians about retirement numbers.

“Retirement is universal. We work hard throughout our working lives with hopes that we can enjoy our golden years.

“Unfortunately, without adequate understanding of retirement planning, many Malaysians stand the risk of being unprepared when they approach retirement,” he said.

The contest, which ran for four weeks since Dec 2 last year, attracted more than 2,000 entries.