Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Flexi-link and Ideal plans

Hi Mr. Tan,

From the website, I realised NTUC income have Flexi-link policy & Ideal policy. May I know what are the main difference between the two? If I did not understand wrongly, Flexi-Link(Invest in 1 lump sum min. $5000) Ideal (Invest regularly - min. $100/mth)

There are different plans policy under Flexi-Link (IB1/2/3/4) and Ideal (ID1/2/5/6/7). However the differences are not explained clearly in the website. I only managed to found out a table which shows the policy fee and adviser charges of each policy.

Are you familiar with the above policies? Can you explained more to me about the differences of these policies to clear my doubt. Thks.

REPLY
If you have $5,000 to start the initial investment, it is better to invest in the Flexi-Link. You can have regular monthly top-ups. The front-end charge for Flexi-Link is 3.5% for each investment. The annual charge is deducted from the fund and varies from 1% to 1.5% depending on the fund invested.

The Ideal plan is a regular saving plan for people who are not able to make the initial investment of $5,000. The Ideal plan are subject to the same charges as the Flexi-link plan and, in addition, there is a further charge of 15% on the annual premium for 3 years (total of 45%) for ID2 and a different charge for ID7 (only available through the business center).

I suggest that you go to the business center in Bras Basah Road and ask the consultant to explain it the difference to you in detail.

The best choice is Flexi-link (if you have $5,000 to invest) or ID7 (but only available through the business center).