Advice on Savings Plans

[starlight1968sg]

Will it be better that if we want to increase, we just go solely for investment only. I recently met up with some people from Philips and after their discussion i think it is true. Insurance is for safety and should not mix with investment. As for investment, we want our money to work harder for us.

To add, invest only using the money that one can afford to lose.

[Kenlim]

Good day to everyone here!

I am sure that an endowment works better with instruments like ILP, investment and insurance bundled up together when it comes to saving with certainty. There are guaranteed return for Endowments plans. Whereas, people who take my ILP is basically getting themselves a life plan to cover for death, total permanent disability, critical illness and early critical protector. It is affordable for people who are of younger age but it can be very costly for people who are already closing to their retirement. The investment portion of ilp is just to use the concept of dollar cost averaging over a long time horizon.

Endowment can be for newborns, to save up for their education fund. It can also be for children who are in their mid teenage years, parents can buy for them for their wedding funds preparation. It can also be for working adult to save up for their retirement. The power of compounding interest works amazingly!

Therefore I still think that endowment plans are a better option for those who Are seeking certainty. And ILP are more suitable for people whose risk appetite is adverse.

People who push ILP PLans are basically going after the high first year commision, but never really understand what the client needs.

I am a consultant from AIA SIngapore. Please PM me if you are looking for an endowment plans at no obligations. I am more than happy to answer to your queries.

Cheers

[Rejoin]

My few cents worth.

For savings plan, there is both the highly liquid and the illiquid types. Which do you prefer?

For the highly liquid one, there's OCBC360, which gives you up to 3.05% p.a. if you satisfy their 3 criteria. Read it up here:
http://www.ocbc.com.sg/personal-banking ... count.html

For the non-liquid sort, there's the savings plan offered by the few insurance companies. Off the top of my head:
1) NTUC Regular Premium Sail
2) Great Eastern Life, Supreme Retirement
3) AXA, Retire Happy.

They have some plans which allow you to plan for your retirement.

Then there's also the Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS), which encourages you to put money into an SRS account for investment.

Regarding low risk investment, you can view it as a savings plan. I recommend POSB Savers Invest or OCBC Blue Chip plan. You can do a comparative study of it by yourself.

The POSB Savers Invest for STI ETF and ABF SG Bonds are relatively low-risk plans.

Lastly, I'm not an insurance agent nor a financial planner. I'm just a tutor who happens to optimize my portfolio for savings/retirement/investment.

[apple79]

My few cents worth.

For savings plan, there is both the highly liquid and the illiquid types. Which do you prefer?

For the highly liquid one, there's OCBC360, which gives you up to 3.05% p.a. if you satisfy their 3 criteria. Read it up here:
http://www.ocbc.com.sg/personal-banking ... count.html

For the non-liquid sort, there's the savings plan offered by the few insurance companies. Off the top of my head:
1) NTUC Regular Premium Sail
2) Great Eastern Life, Supreme Retirement
3) AXA, Retire Happy.

They have some plans which allow you to plan for your retirement.

Then there's also the Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS), which encourages you to put money into an SRS account for investment.

Regarding low risk investment, you can view it as a savings plan. I recommend POSB Savers Invest or OCBC Blue Chip plan. You can do a comparative study of it by yourself.

The POSB Savers Invest for STI ETF and ABF SG Bonds are relatively low-risk plans.

Lastly, I'm not an insurance agent nor a financial planner. I'm just a tutor who happens to optimize my portfolio for savings/retirement/investment.

To add on SRS can be used for tax savings purpose

[dolphinsiah]

Good day to everyone here!

I am sure that an endowment works better with instruments like ILP, investment and insurance bundled up together when it comes to saving with certainty. There are guaranteed return for Endowments plans. Whereas, people who take my ILP is basically getting themselves a life plan to cover for death, total permanent disability, critical illness and early critical protector. It is affordable for people who are of younger age but it can be very costly for people who are already closing to their retirement. The investment portion of ilp is just to use the concept of dollar cost averaging over a long time horizon.

Endowment can be for newborns, to save up for their education fund. It can also be for children who are in their mid teenage years, parents can buy for them for their wedding funds preparation. It can also be for working adult to save up for their retirement. The power of compounding interest works amazingly!

Therefore I still think that endowment plans are a better option for those who Are seeking certainty. And ILP are more suitable for people whose risk appetite is adverse.

People who push ILP PLans are basically going after the high first year commision, but never really understand what the client needs.

I am a consultant from AIA SIngapore. Please PM me if you are looking for an endowment plans at no obligations. I am more than happy to answer to your queries.

Cheers

What is ILP? I 'sua ku' .

[apple79]

investment linked pdts

[karunggunikid]

i agree with index funds.. for me, i go with DIY index funds n Great eastern plans - i hope to become financially independent soon. skip Prudential and AIA.. money suckers. n ntuc.. might be cheap but isn't necessary good..later can't claim regret. look at the small T&Cs which your agents never tell you.

[concernedDAD]

Finally revisited forum here after son started P1 ;p
I'm with Manulife for last 6yrs & we hv 'new' guaranteed 100% returns savings plan. I'm told returns is the highest so far in market. Tend to believe the company, bocs my comm for this product is the least compared to industry's haha.
Seriously though, do look at ur budget & time frame. Whether u separate insurance from savings or lump together really depend on many factors including risk appetite & preference. If anyone need more info, u r welcome to PM me.

[raymondtkleong]

Personally, I never mix insurance with investment. They are totally different things. Of course, many _use_ insurance as saving/investment purpose. That's fine if you know what you're doing & that fit your plan/strategy. You got to get the concept/purpose right on what you're doing.

Recently, I came across an article that maybe useful for those who are comfortable with 3% return and looking for saving/investment plan for retirement purpose, and if you still trust the Singapore government. The basic idea is to 'invest' into CPF-SA, which give you at least 4% guaranteed (or rather risk-free). You can read the article here: http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogsp ... of-2k.html

One note on the recent POSB saving plan. The concept behind the 'investment' is good. However, the cost maybe much higher when compare with DIY approach. You can purchase ETF easily from SGX, and pay a much lower fee.

Just my 2 cents.

[concernedDAD]

Indeed. SA is a good, secure savings retirement plan where u can park ur excess cash. Like any other "purchases", do note the terms: that once u put $ in, u cannot take out even in urgent need. Payout starts only when u reach the official retirement age.
ETFs are good vehicles if u want higher returns and has a relatvely long time frame.
Main reason I come across for endowment plans though is discipline; it "forces" u to save the money which u may otherwise spend on something else. Time frame can be as short as lump sum, 2yrs, 5yrs or the entire savings period depending on ur budget & target amt.