*Official* Shiny Things club - Part 2

[tangent314]

An index fund manager.

Funny how DFA claims to be both passive and 'claims to be able to outperform the index (some of the time)'

That claim is like saying, the odds of getting heads on a coin flip is 50% but I can beat those odds and get 100% heads on any one flip (50% of the time).

 

[flowerpalms]

I have got reply from my agent:

1. Terminate my lifechoice
My agent told me this plan going to due 9 sept. Monthly premium $256.70. Surrender value is around $705 99.
I said i do not want to continue the premium for lifechoice from Sept onwards. She will check and get back to me.
I said i am aware of the surrender value and asked her to arrange for me this cancellation.

2. Downgrade of my Aviva Myshield class A plan to Class B1 as charged while remaining 100% covered (not the co payment as i am under the old.policy before Apr 2019). She has sent me the form. Why i stil choose class B1 as charged is on further considerations that i am also not looking for a comprehensive family oriented coverage.

3. Get the Aviva idealincome dii
We will meet up tmr appt to sign this

Hmm am sorry but i dont think i can answer your questions already

What i can say is that Aviva Idealincome which is their disability income insurance has a 35% discount of the premium for applications until 31st Dec 2019.

I have whatsapp my agent to help me process the following:
Please note the myshield downgrade is from Class A to standard while remaining 100% covered (old existing plan) and not the co payment rider

 

[littleredboy]

I really advise people on getting premium medical care out of your insurance. SG Government hospitals, though much better than most of other country's, are still public hospitals. Ive seen the horrors, I dont want to be put inside it if I'm sick. I want to get back on my feet fast, not be treated like an experiment in hospital.

I did upgrade mine to premier plan for treatments in private care. Have some consideration on this.

 

[flowerpalms]

Are you prepared to pay thousands of dollars in premiums as you age for private hospital in future?

I really advise people on getting premium medical care out of your insurance. SG Government hospitals, though much better than most of other country's, are still public hospitals. Ive seen the horrors, I dont want to be put inside it if I'm sick. I want to get back on my feet fast, not be treated like an experiment in hospital.

I did upgrade mine to premier plan for treatments in private care. Have some consideration on this.

 

[highsulphur]

I really advise people on getting premium medical care out of your insurance. SG Government hospitals, though much better than most of other country's, are still public hospitals. Ive seen the horrors, I dont want to be put inside it if I'm sick. I want to get back on my feet fast, not be treated like an experiment in hospital.

I did upgrade mine to premier plan for treatments in private care. Have some consideration on this.

How old are you? Wait till you hit past 40 and see the premium shoots up every year

 

[littleredboy]

This was unfortunate for us as it was ruled in favour of insurance companies recently. Companies argued all these tiered pricing movement (for Pru, I'm not sure about others) are to prevent abuse. This was unfair for us.

My stand is this: if its some minor stuff that I'm okay with, generally wont greatly affect me much in day to day, then I choose public. Something serious like Im severely down, I choose private.

Are you prepared for even higher surge in the premiums for private hospital in future?

 

[flowerpalms]

Its either you pay the ridiculously high premiums by chossing the most expensive plan or go with the public hospital. You cant have both.

I also started out with private hosp plan. It was when they increased the premium that after considerations , i downgraded inmediately to Class A to avoid paying thousands of dollars of the new premiums rolled out. But now i am going to downgrade it again to B1 as charged plan under Aviva myshield while still remaining 100% covered instead of co payment. Like i said i wish to be 100% covered as long as i can afford.

At the same time, i am surrendering mylifechoice policy with Aviva and signing up for Aviva idealincome tmr

This was unfortunate for us as it was ruled in favour of insurance companies recently. Companies argued all these tiered pricing movement (for Pru, I'm not sure about others) are to prevent abuse. This was unfair for us.

My stand is this: if its some minor stuff that I'm okay with, generally wont greatly affect me much in day to day, then I choose public. Something serious like Im severely down, I choose private.

 

[littleredboy]

In my case with Premier plan, my premiums pricing goes up and down, pending if there's any claims.

For claims in public hospitals, pricing movement will never move, stays the same throughout until 65.
For claims in private care, under a certain amount, there will be no change in premiums. For amounts exceeding a threshold, pricing moves up few levels. Yearly review will also make premiums go up or down, pending if any claims. Generally if you want private care, need to wait 4 years to go back to original premium levels.

Does yours work the same way?

 

[flowerpalms]

Premiums will only go up. The only question is when. That is why co payments are introduced. Luckily for me , i belong to the old existing plan so i get to keep my 100% coverage while downgrading my plan to B1 as charged so i dont have to pay the ever increasing premiums. Unless one day i can no longer afford the premium for 100% coverage although a plan 3, then i may have to consider co payment plans.

In my case with Premier plan, my premiums pricing goes up and down, pending if there's any claims.

For claims in public hospitals, pricing movement will never move, stays the same throughout until 65.
For claims in private care, under a certain amount, there will be no change in premiums. For amounts exceeding a threshold, pricing moves up few levels. Yearly review will also make premiums go up or down, pending if any claims. Generally if you want private care, need to wait 4 years to go back to original premium levels.

Does yours work the same way?

 

[airsylph]

Short term investment horizon

Hi all,

Thanks for all the information on the thread. I'm fairly new to this (been reading a lot about FIRE, but most information relates to the US/Canada scene), so I'm super glad to have had this thread. I combed through the thread as best as I could, but I still wanted to have all of your input.

I'm 30 this year and am looking to buy a resale flat once I hit 35. This means I have a 5 year investment horizon for my down payment money. I don't have a downpayment saved up yet but will do so within this 5 years.

Should I:

• Keep it in cash in a DBS Multipler account for about 1.9% (assuming I can hit this interest rate);
• Buy SSB regularly every month with the money I'm saving for the downpayment (taking whatever interest rate I can);
• Buy a bond fund quarterly, and assume it can do better than 1.9% after 5 years.

I'm also puzzling over the fact if I should:

1. Save ALL my savings for the flat down payment first and in later years, invest the rest into IWDA/ES3;
2. Save SOME savings for the flat down payment and invest SOME into IWDA/ES3; or
3. Invest all I have right now into IWDA/ES3, then later on in life, save for the downpayment.

I'm currently going with option 2.

If anyone has any advice, I'll deeply appreciate it. Thank you, and sorry if all this has been covered previously. I wasn't able to find a post.

 

[littleredboy]

Check out Pru. I'm not saying theirs is the best, but mine does go up n down. Have a chat with your broker who is not tied to a specific company.

Premiums will only go up. The only question is when. That is why co payments are introduced. Luckily for me , i belong to the old existing plan so i get to keep my 100% coverage while downgrading my plan to B1 as charged so i dont have to pay the ever increasing premiums. Unless one day i can no longer afford the premium for 100% coverage although a plan 3, then i may have to consider co payment plans.

 

[BBCWatcher]

But now i am going to downgrade it again to B1 as charged plan under Aviva myshield while still remaining 100% covered instead of co payment. Like i said i wish to be 100% covered as long as i can afford.

To repeat, you cut your annual limit in half when you do that, from $600K to $300K. Aviva MyShield Plan 3 will only pay the first $300K for covered services per year, and then you're responsible for 100% of the rest.

I do not recommend you do this. While it's fairly hard to rack up $300K of medical bills, it's not impossible. It will be progressively easier to bust this annual limit as the years pass.

If you insist on downgrading to a public hospital B1 plan while you're in your 30s, and if you don't have pre-existing condition exclusions, head over to Great Eastern and sign up for their SupremeHealth B Plus plan with TotalCare Classic rider. That one has a much, much better $500K annual limit, one of the reasons it's best-in-class currently. Yes, OK, Great Eastern won't pay from the first dollar since the rider is rule compliant, but so what? You're not going to have a much lower $300K annual limit either. Insurance must, first and foremost, handle the big, calamitous, catastrophic problems (as best a monetary payout can handle them), not the smaller bills.

SupremeHealth B Plus is not a great plan for PRs, I should note.

 

[swan02]

Personally, try to be certain, is it 5 years or 2 years. 0-5 years time frame means SSB only.

Irregardless, I’ll rather take the safest route, 20/80 asset allocation. NOT a pure bond portfolio as u can actually achieve a higher return with the same amount of risk with the 20/80.

There are arguments for this asset allocation even for emergency funds. You will find people criticising it, ultimately it is your risk appetite and there isn’t a perfect way to Eden.

Hi all,

Thanks for all the information on the thread. I'm fairly new to this (been reading a lot about FIRE, but most information relates to the US/Canada scene), so I'm super glad to have had this thread. I combed through the thread as best as I could, but I still wanted to have all of your input.

I'm 30 this year and am looking to buy a resale flat once I hit 35. This means I have a 5 year investment horizon for my down payment money. I don't have a downpayment saved up yet but will do so within this 5 years.

Should I:

• Keep it in cash in a DBS Multipler account for about 1.9% (assuming I can hit this interest rate);
• Buy SSB regularly every month with the money I'm saving for the downpayment (taking whatever interest rate I can);
• Buy a bond fund quarterly, and assume it can do better than 1.9% after 5 years.

I'm also puzzling over the fact if I should:

1. Save ALL my savings for the flat down payment first and in later years, invest the rest into IWDA/ES3;
2. Save SOME savings for the flat down payment and invest SOME into IWDA/ES3; or
3. Invest all I have right now into IWDA/ES3, then later on in life, save for the downpayment.

I'm currently going with option 2.

If anyone has any advice, I'll deeply appreciate it. Thank you, and sorry if all this has been covered previously. I wasn't able to find a post.

 

[swan02]

I really advise people on getting premium medical care out of your insurance. SG Government hospitals, though much better than most of other country's, are still public hospitals. Ive seen the horrors, I dont want to be put inside it if I'm sick. I want to get back on my feet fast, not be treated like an experiment in hospital.

I did upgrade mine to premier plan for treatments in private care. Have some consideration on this.

IMO. It is dangerous to generalise the public
Hospital unless you are an experienced medical professional who has been in the two different systems. The politics of money complicates the delivery of care.

sadly I had a recent bad experience with a major public hospital in an ICU environment.
Junior nurse was allocated to a non ventilated patient. Patient though haemodynamically stable is critical. Patient deteriorated, I demanded action upon seeing patient. still being refused by junior nurses instead allaying my fears with nonsensical reasoning. Demanded a nurse specialist hence action started. Demanded an arterial blood gas ABG immediately but refused as only a Dr can approve (because it’s expensive). Nurse immediately before the ABG is done provided medical care such as O2 and repositioning and maybe non invasive ventilation. I told off the nurses you should ask Reg who is just a 10 sec away. The ABG naturally showed normal range, told off the Dr, of cuz it will show normal when u did the ABG after. Told off the Dr also of his mistake in meds that screwed the kidneys of the patient, likely an inexperienced dr just came from the wards.

Next day he was screwed by the Specialist.

However I’m still with public med insurance because I’ve seen horrors in the private as well. I don’t hold sg system as higher esteem than developed countries anymore.

 

[flowerpalms]

As i already have Aviva Myshield Plan 2 + 100% rider paid for the year until June 2020, do you suggest i port over now to GE (for example), or wait until June 2020 once it ends and not renew it for a new year? If change now and no pre existing condition i can get pro rated refund

To repeat, you cut your annual limit in half when you do that, from $600K to $300K. Aviva MyShield Plan 3 will only pay the first $300K for covered services per year, and then you're responsible for 100% of the rest.

I do not recommend you do this. While it's fairly hard to rack up $300K of medical bills, it's not impossible. It will be progressively easier to bust this annual limit as the years pass.

If you insist on downgrading to a public hospital B1 plan while you're in your 30s, and if you don't have pre-existing condition exclusions, head over to Great Eastern and sign up for their SupremeHealth B Plus plan with TotalCare Classic rider. That one has a much, much better $500K annual limit, one of the reasons it's best-in-class currently. Yes, OK, Great Eastern won't pay from the first dollar since the rider is rule compliant, but so what? You're not going to have a much lower $300K annual limit either. Insurance must, first and foremost, handle the big, calamitous, catastrophic problems (as best a monetary payout can handle them), not the smaller bills.

SupremeHealth B Plus is not a great plan for PRs, I should note.

 

[BBCWatcher]

As i already have Aviva Myshield Plan 2 + 100% rider paid for the year until June 2020, do you suggest i port over now to GE (for example), or wait until June 2020 once it ends and not renew it for a new year? If change now and no pre existing condition i can get pro rated refund

If you're going to change carriers (a viable option if you have no preexisting condition exclusions), it'd be better to make the switch sooner rather than later since there's a slight risk of developing a preexisting condition as time passes.

Note that you could start off on, say, Great Eastern's Supreme Health A Plus plan (with TotalCare Classic rider). That plan has a $1 million annual limit. Assuming you're age 36 to 40 next birthday, the premium will be $52 more per year (MediSave payable) for the base plan and $21 more per year for the rider (cash payable) versus Supreme Health B Plus. And for that you get a private room (public hospital A ward) and a $1 million annual limit versus $500,000. That seems reasonable to me.

 

[flowerpalms]

First things first, cancellation of policy need to meet insurance agent first? I nv never cancel before.

Can i just go to the insurance office to their customer service and sign the cancellation forms? I really hate the nitry gritty talks with agent ask here and there...

If you're going to change carriers (a viable option if you have no preexisting condition exclusions), it'd be better to make the switch sooner rather than later since there's a slight risk of developing a preexisting condition as time passes.

Note that you could start off on, say, Great Eastern's Supreme Health A Plus plan (with TotalCare Classic rider). That plan has a $1 million annual limit. Assuming you're age 36 to 40 next birthday, the premium will be $52 more per year (MediSave payable) for the base plan and $21 more per year for the rider (cash payable) versus Supreme Health B Plus. And for that you get a private room (public hospital A ward) and a $1 million annual limit versus $500,000. That seems reasonable to me.

 

[BBCWatcher]

First things first, cancellation of policy need to meet insurance agent first? I nv never cancel before.

No, not for Integrated Shield plans. You just sign up for a new plan with the new carrier (if that's what you wish to do), and the old one is cancelled automatically.

Can i just go to the insurance office to their customer service and sign the cancellation forms? I really hate the nitry gritty talks with agent ask here and there...

No, you don't want to do that since there could be a break in coverage, a drop down to MediShield Life. Just let the new carrier push all the paperwork through.

Obviously check that you get back your pro-rated premiums (the base plan refunded to MediSave, rider in cash) in due course, but that too should happen automatically.

 

[flowerpalms]

The point is i also need to cancel MyLifeChoice, i have to do them together

No, not for Integrated Shield plans. You just sign up for a new plan with the new carrier (if that's what you wish to do), and the old one is cancelled automatically.


No, you don't want to do that since there could be a break in coverage, a drop down to MediShield Life. Just let the new carrier push all the paperwork through.

Obviously check that you get back your pro-rated premiums (the base plan refunded to MediSave, rider in cash) in due course, but that too should happen automatically.

 

[drkcynic]

I really advise people on getting premium medical care out of your insurance. SG Government hospitals, though much better than most of other country's, are still public hospitals. Ive seen the horrors, I dont want to be put inside it if I'm sick. I want to get back on my feet fast, not be treated like an experiment in hospital.

I did upgrade mine to premier plan for treatments in private care. Have some consideration on this.

Quite true. My dad went to SGH in Jan this year for a knee problem. He couldn't walk so they scheduled a surgery for him, in May earliest.

We got him the private hospital insurance so we told him to go straight to Mt. E. A surgery was arranged for that very week and he was up and walking and pain free by March.

Imagine if we hadn't bought the private coverage he would still be waiting in March.

Worth every penny.