Retirement Series (Part 2)

My part 2 version came a year and a half late. My apologies really.

In the previous discussion, I discussed about retirement. In the past, it was a buzzword only for people in their 40s or 50s. That is quite normal I would say. Given the financial literacy and knowledge of Generation X. Not many people make an effort to think about the future. I would say that partly it is due to the conditions of the past and education. Fast forward 30 years, the trend is gradually changing. The young are concerned about their futures and the future of their younger ones. An additional factor is that personal finance and financial literacy are increasing among the young.

Including myself, I love my kids and I want the world to be in a better place than it was when I am no longer around. It depends on which stage everyone is in. Some people have more resources while others have lesser. However, that does not make you any less by starting out early. Even if you are late to the game, making the start of this means that you are already on your way to some form of freedom.

There are so many investment tools out there in the market to put your money in and it’s a matter of understanding the risks and taking the right risks to grow your money. Of course, the basic step is to spruce up an emergency fund first. You cannot confuse your pot to be of multiple use. Different funds that you raise have to be for a different purpose. If you have fewer resources, then focus on the things that will give you the confidence such as building a pot of emergency funds. For example, 9 months’ worth of extras. Do not undermine the power of achieving milestones because the small effort often counts for bigger things to come.

Once your basics are covered. We have to think about the next step of risk – This is the part where I term it as risk transfer. This is short is coined as Buy an insurance. The basics are buying your personal health insurance and protection against illness, treatment, sudden medical conditions as well as other unforeseen circumstances. Life itself is uncertain and as time goes by, it will be more prevalent. Getting insurance is never enough but there are many ways to kick-start that. It also involves a bit of planning.

I’m no financial expert. All I know is you probably should find out more to convince yourself that you need to risk transferring your future.

a. Health Insurance

b. Whole Life Plans with TPD or Term Life Plans or Hybrid Plans

c. Critical Illness

d. Early Payout Critical Illness

e. Disability Income or Elder Shield Enhance

I’ll say start working with the Health portion followed by Death or permanent disability coverage. Because if you are gone, your potential future earnings are gone and your dependants depend on them. Once you have covered yourself, then start thinking about the rest. Baby steps. This works well if you are still young.

Things like Mindef or MHA term insurance coverage or SNACK Income microinsurance work well to supplement this insurance at a low cost. That’s something most advisors probably would not share with you.

That’s probably enough information for Part 2. We should talk more about insurance in Part 3.

Disclaimer

If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join in the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services

A New Singlife Grow & Referral Scheme

Singlife is offering up to $35 when you sign up for Singlife Account and their Singlife Grow. I’ve been following them for a while now and I realised that they have been promoting their GROW ILP account. I’m not sure if it took off well but given how there is marketing dollars to promote seems like it is encouraging a higher take up rate.  To get the $30 from grow, it takes very little effort. If you are an existing Singlife Account, you will still qualify for the Singlife Grow reward as long as you have never applied for Grow portfolio before. Just take note to use the code to get your credits – “ki02dAhi

The new scheme and promotion

There isn’t a lock-in period for your funds, and you can withdraw without penalty but it seems like there is a cap at S$20,000 per account per day so do take note.

The interest mechanic

On top of the sign-up gift, you also get 0.5% p.a. additional returns for your Singlife Account when you set up your Grow portfolio which is a nice cherry on top of the sign-up bonus. This gives you 1.5% p.a. on your Singlife Account for the first $10,000.

Not to mention that if you complete the $500 spending per month, you get an additional 0.5% p.a. and that makes it 2.0% p.a. on your Singlife Account for the first $10,000.

The Additional Perks

As all promotion goes, do some form of diligence and check out the Terms and Conditions to understand what you are putting your money into. Read it here: Terms and Conditions

The Cash Mechanic goes like this.

a. If you are not an account holder, sign up using this code ki02dAhi + order and activate the Singlife debit card to get a S$5 sign up bonus

b. If you are an existing customer then check GROW out.

  • Sign and apply for your first GROW policy using this code ki02dAhi + Fund your first GROW policy with a minimum of S$1000 to get a $30 sign up bonus.

In short, if you are a new customer, your max benefits will be S$35 and if you are an existing customer, your max benefits will be S$30.

The Real Deal, GROW ILP (Investment Linked Plan-ILP)

Without doubt, I scrutinise at the term ILP. Personally, I have terminated 2 ILPs that I bought some time back without knowing what I was going into.

Singlife Grow is primarily an investment ILP with very minimal insurance. You don’t have to pay high upfront commissions nor high assurance charges, and no lock-in period for your funds. However, I’m not quite sure if there is a fund switch function and what the bid-offer spreads are like.

Singlife Grow is more of a hybrid robo-insurtech /advisor perhaps and I can’t really classify them under any sorts but for sure they are in the Insurance industry so hence the term ILPs. They are not the typical ILP which loads the consumer even before the investing starts so that’s a plus.

However, do take note of the investment risks so it can go both ways and there’s no guaranteed returns.

  • I understand that the fund managers who will be managing your funds will be from Aberdeen Standard investments
  • There will be three different class of investing, namely (Conservative, Balanced and Dynamic). Allocations can be found here: Grow Factsheet and the investment breakdown
  • They are also under ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) which is a big thing these days as people approach sustainable investing.
  • Coverage will be 101% of Net premium or Account value (In the event it has gone up much higher)
  • Fees will be 0.25% per quarter of the account value. (Management Charge)
  • No Cost of Insurance (Excellent)

Some important information to note:

Singlife Launches Member Get Member Programme, Rewarding New and Existing Customers S$35 for Every Referral

Benefit

  • All referrers and referees receive S$30 when the referee signs up for Grow, and S$5 when the referee creates a Singlife Account and activates their Singlife Visa Debit Card. With no limits to the number of referrals, customers can continue to refer and receive more rewards.

The Grow ILP – Investment Linked Plan

  • Singlife’s Grow is an Investment-Linked Policy (ILP) with portfolios managed by Aberdeen Standard Investments. Accessed through the Singlife App, customers can manage, save and invest simply through a single interconnected platform with absolutely no lock-ins. For more information on Grow, visit https://singlife.com/grow/.

The Flexibility

  • The Singlife Account continues offering the same flexibility customers desire with no lock-ins or withdrawal fees, and better peace of mind. For more information about the Singlife Account, visit https://singlife.com/manage/.  However last I tried, there is a cap of S$20,000 limit of transfer out per account per day so do take note.

The physical card

  • The Singlife Account is Singlife’s flagship everyday insurance savings plan that comes with a free Visa Debit Card, carrying no FX fees for foreign currency transactions.

The protection by SDIC

  • The Singlife Account and Grow are protected up to specified limits by Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC).

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post. This is purely my own opinion after using their service and/or products. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy. Just take note to use this code to get your credits – “ki02dAhi

Now, if what I am sharing does resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral and Recommendations

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/

The pictures were taken from Singlife website for this article.