New IPP 3D Term Insurance
Posted by Stephen Mok in Financial Planning on 09/07/2010
TM Asia Life
Our company, IPP Financial Advisers Pte Ltd has tied up with Life Insurer TM Asia Life to launch an exclusive 5 years insurance term plan called IPP 3D Term.
The premium payable is very very affordable and you will receive a 50% discount on the initial payment.
Main Product benefits
1. Death – On death, the sum assured is payable and the plan will terminate.
2. Terminal Illness – On diagnosis od terminal illness, the sum assured is payable.
3. Total & Permanent Disability (TPD) - In the event of TPD, the sum assured is payable.
4. Accelerated Dread Disease Coverage (DD) - On diagnosis of DD, the sum assured is payable.
Guide lines for the 5 years term plan
Age at entry (minimum) – 17 age next birthday
Age at entry (Maximum) – 65 age next birthday
Max expiry age – 70 years old
Minimum sum assured – $150,000
Coverage Term – 5 years
14 days free look applies – you can return the policy within 14 days after you receive the policy documents if you decided that you do not want the plan. The premiums paid less medical fees incurred in assessing the risk (if any) under the plan will be refunded.
Annual Premium for $150,000 sum assured
Age Male Female
25 $382.50 $364.50
30 $415.50 $454.50
35 $504.00 $592.50
40 $792.00 $774.00
Best of all, a very useful feature is that you can convert part or all of the plan into a whole life plan or an endowment plan up to the original sum assured amount within the 5 years, without any medical evidence. The remaining sum assured of the term plan must be at least $150,000. You may convert the plan on the premium payment due date.
This is very helpful if you are experiencing a tight cash budget now but you need the high insurance coverage.
If this fits your financial planning, please call me for an appointment soon.
Commit To Excellence
Posted by Stephen Mok in Personal on 30/06/2010
Your Best Life Now
The story went like this…
A certain home builder was down on his luck and did not had much work to do lately. His rich friend took pity on him and decided to help him out. He gave him a set of plans to buid a house and a cheque for US$300,000. He entrusted every detail of the construction to his builder friend as he did not have time to bother with it.
The builder was so excited that he could finally start work and earn some money! But… he started thinking…
“If I cut a few corners here and there, I could pocket some of that $300,000″ So he went out and bought the cheapest concrete, dilute it even further, bought the cheapest lumber. Some were bent and warped but he did not care as they would be hidden behind the walls. He did the same thing with the plumbing and the electrical works. When the house was finally completed, he saved nearly $40,000 which he discreetly pocketed.
He called his wealthy friend to inspect the house and he was quite impressed with it. On the surface, the house looked beautiful and elegant. He would never have guessed that the builder had cut corners, compromising the whole house.
The builder was ecstatic and could not wait to see how much the rich friend would pay him for the job done.
To his surprise, his rich friend said, “You know, I don’t really need this home. I already have a beautiful home. I was just trying to help you and do you a favor.” He handed the keys to his builder friend and said “Here, my friend. This is for you. You have just built yourself a brand new home.”
The builder neraly passed out. He thought, “If I had known it was going to be my own home, I would have built it a whole lot better!!!”
The truth is, whether we know it or not, we are building our own homes. We may cut corners here and there, but it’s not going to hurt anybody except ourselves. Those poor decisions will weaken our foundations causing us problems in the future. What we do when nobody is watching is what really counts!
In the same way, when we compromise to get ahead in life, we will suffer the dire consequences of our actions in future.
A person of excellence and integrity does what is right, even when nobody is watching. People of excellence do what’s right because it is right, not because somebody is forcing them to do it.
Financial Planning For Young Working Adults
Posted by Stephen Mok in Financial Planning on 12/06/2010
Financial Freedom Starts Now
High up in their agenda is to spend on whatever they want! That’s the danger sign!
Most young adults when given their first pay cheques would most probably go on a buying spree. With so much cash in hand, they will be very tempted to buy that iPhone 4, buy that dream car, eat at fine dining restaurants, go for multiple holiday trips in a year. They are free to spend whatever they fancy.
They have never been taught financial planning in school and most parents are not sure how to educate their children in this area because their parents did not teach them either.
Here’s my advice for you, if you have just joined the Singapore work force.
1) Save first, then spend the balance. Not spend first and save whatever is left at the end of the month. How much to save? 50% of what you earn is a good figure to start. Why? Because you are still staying with your parents, you do not need to pay for the utilities and other family expenses. 50% of your salary can go into your bank savings account, start an regular investment savings plan, buy an endowment policy which can be a short term or long term savings plan. Delay gratification is the first discipline you must master here.
Do not be tempted by quick rich schemes or “no money down” investments. If you don’t understand fully what you are getting into, stay out of it because most likely you will not even know it when you have lost all your money! Be prudent and patient when it comes to investments. Keep at least 6 months of your expenses in the bank and invest the rest using the other ways mentioned above. Yoour financial planner can calculate exactly how much you should save per month to achieve your wealth accumulation goals.
2) Protect the most important factor in your income producing model – YOU! Your ability to generate an income is the most vital component of your wealth accumulation plan. You must create the foundation of your financial plan, that is your wealth protection, that is your life insurance policies. You must cover premature death, total and permanent disability, critical illness and disability income. There are many insurance products out there, so getting an independent financial adviser will help you get the best value for your money. Don’t buy from your friend who joined an insurance company just to help him out. You will be paying the premiums for the next 10 to 25 years, so it is very important that you are not over paying for your insurance policies.
3) If you already have a boy friend or girl friend, who is also working, you must instill this financial planning mindset in that person so that both of you will not quarrel or separate because of financial issues. Most couples split because of financial problem. One save while the other spend. Different value sysytems will create havoc in your relationship.
4) Don’t sign up too many credit cards, two cards are enough for most people. You have to keep track of your credit spending. Pay off your credit card bills every month, don’t ever roll over and pay the minimum. If you have done that, quickly pay it off now! Credit cards are for convenience, don’t buy the product if you can’t afford it now. Many adults have fallen into this trap and have declared bankrupt. It is not a joke to be declared a bankrupt. Your bad record will follow you for life.
If you need “uncle Mok” to help you design a financial plan, just make an appointment with me one of these days.
Ron Kaufman – Quality Service Video
Posted by Stephen Mok in Personal on 27/05/2010
Ron is easy to understand and humorous. I learnt a lot on servicing my clients from his training. The latest one was during NTUC Income’s launch of “Power of 5″ at Suntec’s The ROCK auditorium.
View the rest of his videos by clicking here
What Happens To Your CPF Savings After You Die?
Posted by Stephen Mok in Financial Planning on 26/05/2010
Central Provident Fund Board
CPF has clearly stated in it’s website that ALL the CPF savings in the Ordinary, Special and Medisave accounts as well as the discounted SingTel shares bought in 1993 when SingTel went public, will be distributed to his nominees according to the proportion stated in his nomination form.
If you have not made a nomination, your CPF savings will be distributed to your family members according to Singapore’s Intestacy laws. Muslims will have to follow the Inheritance Certificate from the Syariah Court.
If you have invested your CPF savings, the Dependent Protection Scheme (DPS) claims proceeds and properties bought using CPF savings are NOT covered by the CPF nomination. You should have a valid will to cover these assets. Properties held with the legal status of “Joint Tenancy”, usually with your spouse, is not affected as it will automatically vested in the spouse name. But your spouse should have a will too, in case both die at the same time.
If you are getting married soon, make a new nomination after marriage as your previous nomination while you were single will no longer be valid.
If you are divorcing your spouse soon and no longer want to leave any money to your spouse, make a new nomination as your previous nomination is still valid even when you divorce!
Click here for the nomination form and instructions.
CPF Nominations – What is covered
Tribute To the late Dr. Goh Keng Swee (1918 – 2010)
Posted by Stephen Mok in Personal on 25/05/2010
A great leader and father
Born into a middle-income Peranakan family in Malacca, he came to Singapore when he was two years old. His early education was at Anglo-Chinese School (1927–1936) and later at Raffles College (1936–1939). click here for more…
He was diagnosed with bladder cancer in September 1983 and he retired from politics in December 1984. He kept a low profile but remained active with various organisations where he served on the board or as an adviser. After he married Dr. Phua Swee Liang in 1991, the couple travelled widely to places such as Australia and Hawaii. However, a series of strokes in the late 1990s and early 2000s took a heavy toll on him. He was bedridden in his final years and passed away on 14 May 2010. Click here for more…
“With his passing, we have lost a remarkable and outstanding son,” said Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew
More about Dr. Goh Keng Swee
Want to know more? click here and here
Pay your tribute to the late Dr Goh Keng Swee here available up to 30 May 2010.
Passive Income For Life
Posted by Stephen Mok in Financial Planning on 18/05/2010
Living the high life
Let’s take a look at the future…When you retire at age 55 with $5,000,000 in the bank, what do you do with it?
The most important thing to do is to preserve your wealth! Investing in stocks and shares will be very risky, most investments do have some form of volatility. Perpetual bonds give higher coupon rates but you may never see your principal sum again. Preferential shares give good dividends but you never know how long the company will last!
I have the answer to all these uncertainties.
There is an insurance plan for high net worth people like you!
You can withdraw an amount (guaranteed) every year for the rest of your life, preserve your original capital sum and leave behind a legacy more than your original capital sum when you pass on. Your future generations will remember you for a long long time! You can also nominate a charitable organisation as the beneficiary.
You can have your cake and eat it… and still give away more than a cake when you no longer need to eat the cake.
If you have more than US$1,000,000 or know someone who has that amount and would like to have a guaranteed stream of income for the rest of his/her life, please call me immediately.
Financial ratio 8 – Basic Liquidity Ratio
Posted by Stephen Mok in Financial Planning on 11/05/2010
One Dollar Saved Is Another Dollar Gained
Liquidity means your ability to convert an asset into cash easily without significant loss of value. The faster an asset is convertible into cash the more liquid it is. The ratio shows your ability to meet monthly expenses.
The higher the ratio , the more liquid your assets are. This ratio should be three to six months for you to have adequate liquidity. This means you are able to cover three to six months of expenses in case your income stops for whatever reasons. Some people will be more comfortable with up to 12 months but too much will not be good as the bank’s interest rates are less than 1% p.a. That is below Singapore’s average inflation rate of 3%. Your money is losing it’s purchasing power if you leave all of it in the banks.
Basic Liquidity Ratio = Cash in the Bank divided by Your Monthly Expenses
Financial Ratio 7 – Non Mortgage (NM) Debt Ratio
Posted by Stephen Mok in Financial Planning on 11/05/2010
Luxury, once enjoyed becomes a neccesity!
This ratio excludes the debt repayment for your properties. It shows you the amount of your income towards non-mortgage debt repayments. A ratio of 15% or lower is considered to be safe while a ratio of more than 20% indicate an undesirable situation.
Too high a ratio means that you have been spending beyond your means. This type of debts are more related to lifestyle expenses so it is wise not to keep running up your credit card bills! You may need counseling if you have gone out of control.
Non mortgage Debt Service Ratio = Total monthly NM debt repayments divided by Monthly “Take Home” Income
Financial Ratio 6 – Debt Service Ratio
Posted by Stephen Mok in Financial Planning on 11/05/2010
$ingapore I$ A Great Place To Live
This ratio measures the proportion of ‘take home’ income, less CPF contributions that is used to make regular repayments of debt. ‘Take home’ income is all your income inclusive of interest income, rental income and dividend income minus both employer and employee CPF contributions.
A ratio of 35% or below indicates that there is enough “take home” income for your debt repayments. If it is more than 45%, you better watch out as you may risk failing to meet your monthly debt repayments!
Debt Service Ratio = Total Monthly Debt Repayment divided by the Monthly “Take Home” income
Singapore BNI Harvest Chapter
Free Financial Health Check
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