Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Office position
I am looking for a person to work part or full time in my office for administrative and accounts work. If you are interested, please reply to kinlian@gmail.com.
Do not follow a bad idea
Hi Mr Tan, I found the insurance information listed on your website very informative and useful. I met up with the insurance agent who has come up with the insurance plan. I am not sure whether I am paying a high premium after looking through his proposal.
I find there are quite a few plans that cover disability so I am concerned whether there is any duplication. I am not to keen to put my savings in an investment-linked policy but my friends, brother all purchase the ILP. It could be good to have one. I would like to seek your advise whether there are anything else that I should take note of.
SY
REPLY
The distribution cost is nearly two years of your savings. The effect of deduction is more than 30% of the value of accumulated premium. These are too high. Read my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning for an explanation of these concepts.
Do not follow your brother and friends into making the same mistake with a high cost investment-linked policy.
I find there are quite a few plans that cover disability so I am concerned whether there is any duplication. I am not to keen to put my savings in an investment-linked policy but my friends, brother all purchase the ILP. It could be good to have one. I would like to seek your advise whether there are anything else that I should take note of.
SY
REPLY
The distribution cost is nearly two years of your savings. The effect of deduction is more than 30% of the value of accumulated premium. These are too high. Read my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning for an explanation of these concepts.
Do not follow your brother and friends into making the same mistake with a high cost investment-linked policy.
World Peace Index - ranking of countries
Hi Mr. Tan,
The latest Global Peace Index by The Institute for Economics and Peace:
http://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/2010-GPI-Results-and-Methodology-Report.pdf
Some rankings:
1) New Zealand
2) Iceland
3) Japan
10)Sweden
18) Switzerland
19) Australia
22) Malaysia
30) Singapore
31) United Kingdom
85) United States of America
HL
The latest Global Peace Index by The Institute for Economics and Peace:
http://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/2010-GPI-Results-and-Methodology-Report.pdf
Some rankings:
1) New Zealand
2) Iceland
3) Japan
10)Sweden
18) Switzerland
19) Australia
22) Malaysia
30) Singapore
31) United Kingdom
85) United States of America
HL
A vision for an egalitarian economy
In recent years, Singaporeans have experienced a higher cost of living, widening wage gap, stagnant incomes and insecurity of jobs. This is reflected in a falling birth rate, which has become among the lowest in the world. Something is wrong.
What is the alternative? I read a few articles from the website of the Singapore Democratic Party. Here is a summary of their key proposals. You can read more details in separate articles in their website. I find their proposals to be quite sensible.
What is the alternative? I read a few articles from the website of the Singapore Democratic Party. Here is a summary of their key proposals. You can read more details in separate articles in their website. I find their proposals to be quite sensible.
Banks cash top-up scheme
Dear Mr Tan,
I am a regular reader of your blog. I have found it informative and helpful. Many have found the space you have provided a very useful forum. Thank you.
I would like to find out whether there are others like me, finding banks "top-up" schemes unfair and tiring. Because only fresh funds can enjoy higher interest rate, you need to transfer funds and for all the trouble you can only enjoy the higher rate for a short period of time. Initially only Standard Chartered Bank has such scheme. Now UOB and other banks follow suit. I find such schemes very meaningless.
I hope that you can raise this problem in your blog so that others who feel the same way can come together to do something.
Liangxin
My comments
I agree that banks should treat their existing customers fairly. They should not get the customer to go through a lot of trouble just to enjoy a decent rate of interest that is offered to new customers for their deposits.
I am a regular reader of your blog. I have found it informative and helpful. Many have found the space you have provided a very useful forum. Thank you.
I would like to find out whether there are others like me, finding banks "top-up" schemes unfair and tiring. Because only fresh funds can enjoy higher interest rate, you need to transfer funds and for all the trouble you can only enjoy the higher rate for a short period of time. Initially only Standard Chartered Bank has such scheme. Now UOB and other banks follow suit. I find such schemes very meaningless.
I hope that you can raise this problem in your blog so that others who feel the same way can come together to do something.
Liangxin
My comments
I agree that banks should treat their existing customers fairly. They should not get the customer to go through a lot of trouble just to enjoy a decent rate of interest that is offered to new customers for their deposits.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Take photos of damages
Here is my advice to a motorist who is involved in an accident. In all cases take photographs of the damages to both vehicles, using your mobile phone. Send the photos and the particulars of both drivers to your insurance company. Take this action, even if both parties agree not to make any claim, especially if the damage is quite minor. The photos will protect you against any inflated claims that may be lodged against you in the future.
Tan Kin Lian
Tan Kin Lian
An unfair life insurance policy
A policyholder sent to me a benefit illustration of a 20 year endowment policy bought four years ago. This policy provide a sum assured of $100,000 and requires an annual premium of $6,000. It pays an annual cash dividend which can be re-invested to earn an interest rate (illustrated at 3% per annum).
The first year's premium is entirely taken away. For each subsequent year, the cash value increases by about $5,000. This means that the cost of insurance is $1,000 to insure $100,000. The cost of this cover under a group insurance should be less than $100 a year.
If the policyholder keeps the policy to maturity at the end of 20 years, the benefit illustration shows a return of about 3% per annum, but a large portion of this return is not guaranteeed and may not be realised. If the policyholder terminates the policy at any time, including the 19th year, a large part of the potential gain is forfeited. The cash value in most years is less than the total premium that has been invested.
This type of policy goes against the concept of fairness. Why should a large part of the gain be taken away on the 19th year? Surely, in the case of a participating policy, there is the principle that the policyholder should be entitled to 90% of the surplus, rather than have this share to be confiscated.
It is time for our regulator to look into this type of practices that are quite unfair for consumers. Although the features of this policy is shown in the benefit illustration, the consumers (including those who are well educated) cannot be savvy enough to know about these catches.
I encourage all consumers to join FISCA (http://www.fisca.sg/), to attend the FISCA talk on financial planning, and to buy my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning. Be educated, so that you do not fall frey to bad financial products in the future (even if you cannot do much about the bad products that you have been sold in the past).
Tan Kin Lian
The first year's premium is entirely taken away. For each subsequent year, the cash value increases by about $5,000. This means that the cost of insurance is $1,000 to insure $100,000. The cost of this cover under a group insurance should be less than $100 a year.
If the policyholder keeps the policy to maturity at the end of 20 years, the benefit illustration shows a return of about 3% per annum, but a large portion of this return is not guaranteeed and may not be realised. If the policyholder terminates the policy at any time, including the 19th year, a large part of the potential gain is forfeited. The cash value in most years is less than the total premium that has been invested.
This type of policy goes against the concept of fairness. Why should a large part of the gain be taken away on the 19th year? Surely, in the case of a participating policy, there is the principle that the policyholder should be entitled to 90% of the surplus, rather than have this share to be confiscated.
It is time for our regulator to look into this type of practices that are quite unfair for consumers. Although the features of this policy is shown in the benefit illustration, the consumers (including those who are well educated) cannot be savvy enough to know about these catches.
I encourage all consumers to join FISCA (http://www.fisca.sg/), to attend the FISCA talk on financial planning, and to buy my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning. Be educated, so that you do not fall frey to bad financial products in the future (even if you cannot do much about the bad products that you have been sold in the past).
Tan Kin Lian
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