Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Silent majority and bonus cut

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Silent majority and bonus cut

Dear Mr. Tan,

I am one of the many silent majority that approves of your public admonishment of NTUC Income over the bonus issue. Frankly most of us have no idea of what we buy.

I am x years old now, married with a daughter. My wife is not working. My apartment is fully paid up. I have limited cash resources, thus I have to cash up my LIVING policies when my daughter goes for university. I have very limited insurance coverage, all with NTUC. That's why I am concerned over the bonus issue.

We have 2 LIVING policies. If we surrender the LIVING policies, is there something else that we can do? I need ultimately the cash values for a university education.

REPLY
i suggest that you ask NTUC Income to quote to you the surrender value for the next five years on your Living policy.

Read this FAQ:
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/existinglife.html

With the surrender value, you will get a better idea about your options. You can send it to me, and we can discuss it together.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...: It is unfortunate that this happens, especially in time like this.
Looking at other aspects of your finance whoever your agent was, he or she certainly didn't give proper advice on college funding. The policy you have is not appropriate for saving for tertiary education for your daughter. A lot of your fund is wasted on protection which could be addressed more efficiently by other means.
I don't blame you. Most people have no idea how much knowledge an adviser needs to have and looking at your situation the agent was definitely not qualified and competent and perhaps not honest too, otherwise you would not be in this predicament.
Look for someone who advises in the areas that he or she is competent or safer to get someone with a CFP designation. Most of all that adviser must be honest. Honesty and competence MUST go together.; May 04, 2008 3:05 PM
Anonymous said...: I think he took up the whole life plan not for his child's uni education. But circumstances changed along the way and that was why he intends to cash out.

Again, this reflects the inflexibility of par plans. Better to invest on your own; you can liquidate your cash position any time. Even in a bear market, it is highly likely you can encash more than the pathetic cash value par plans can give.

The safest thing to do is to consult with Mr Tan. CFP or no CFP makes no difference if the agent is incentivised by fat commissions.; May 04, 2008 4:05 PM
Anonymous said...: When my elder child was born, I took up an Education Policy with NTUC Income. The annual bonus accumulated is quite close, of course less than projected. As for the special bonus no mentioned of it yet. This money will come in handy when she goes to the local university.
By end of this year, I will be able to share in this blog whether this so-called "special bonus" is worth waiting for. Because it is non-guaranteed, I am now doubting the projected figure given is reliable.; May 04, 2008 4:24 PM
Anonymous said...: In my last sentence I enphasised that honesty and competence must go together. One without the other is disastrous. CFP is mentioned to emphasise the level of education and training needed to give a proper advice. It is a course that provides all round training on personal finance. Of course there are those who acquired this expertise through experience. But a credential is testimony of that training.; May 04, 2008 4:33 PM
Anonymous said...: I just checked the difference. Actually, the annual bonus projected is higher by $2,000.00. I will be receiving less from the guaranteed annual bonus. Thus, my conclusion is that any amount projected in the policy cannot be taken as the actual value. It will be far less, am I right? This is my addition to my 4.24pm comment.; May 04, 2008 4:54 PM