Future of National Service in Singapore

Read this article by Seah Cheang Nee
http://www.thestar.com.my/Opinion/Columnists/Insight-Down-South/Profile/Articles/2013/09/14/Concern-over-NS-numbers

The writer had written truths about our National Service policy that the policy makers refuse to recognize. It is clear to most people that our NS policy is now not sustainable for the following reasons:

a) It is imposing an unfair burden on male Singaporeans
b) It is contributing to the low birth rate experienced in Singapore
c) There are better ways to handle our national defense priority, such as relying more on a professional army
d) It is possible to reduce the military training to 9 months (as is experienced in other countries) for the rank and file (representing more than 90% of recruits)
e) The 10% or less who are selected as officers can be given additional training and be paid better
f) The annual reservist training and remedial training should be reduced changed to alleviate the continuing burden
g) The wastage of manpower and expenditure on our national defense should be addressed.

I hope that more Singaporeans will come forward to speak out against the current policy and practice.

Dependent Protection Insurance Scheme (DPIS)

There was a letter in the Straits Times that the insurance company rejected a permanent disability claim from an insured person who was paralyzed from the waist down. The insurer claimed that his person could do sedentary work and does not qualify for a claim.

I checked the definition of the cover from the CPF website and found the following:

This Dependent Protection Insurance scheme provides CPF members and their families with some money to tide them over the initial years should the insured members become physically/mentally incapacitated or die.

The website further states: The member becomes physically/mentally incapacitated and can no longer work as certified by a doctor. The scheme does not provide any further guidance to the doctor how to certify that the member "can no longer work".

The DPIS scheme has been in existence for more than 30 years. It is unsatisfactory that there is no clearer definition about what incapacity meant. There must be many actual cases in the past that could be used to provide guidance on how to deal with some specific cases.

Understanding health insurance

Dear Mr Tan

We will like to share with you our latest article that talks about the fine prints commonly included in health insurance. 

Given the recent ST forum letter from a NTUC Income policyholder, we thought this article might prove useful for readers of your blog (especially those interested in personal finance matters).

Article as attached & link for your reference - http://dollarsandsense.sg/the-fine-prints-of-health-insurance/. Being from the industry and organization previously, we believe you might have some thoughts to this matter. We will be glad to hear any insight that you may have in additional to what we have pen down in our article. 

Best Regards,

Timothy