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BBCWatcher

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Does it make sense to go for FRS early?
Yes, it does. You don’t need OA dollars as OA, so the higher yield sooner makes perfect sense. If you haven’t made this year’s $7,000 top up for tax relief yet and wish to, you would do that first. If you want to get slightly fancy you could estimate whether you’d reach exactly $179,000 in your SA on December 31 (inclusive of all 2020 interest that lands in SA, your top up, your OA to SA transfer, and compulsory contributions) in order to squeeze in one last top up with tax relief this coming January, but that’s a very difficult calculation.

As your OA fills back up you could take a look at whether the CPF Investment Scheme (OA) makes sense, probably just into ES3 or G3B, since you’d have 20+ years to run.
 

isaacsayshi

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Hi all,

Does it make sense for you to buy local shares with CPF OA money?

What happens in the event of stock split and you don't have the min balance to take advantage of the split or other possible corporate actions?
Would like to hear your thoughts. Cheers!
 

flowerpalms

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BBC, currently i have DII with GE Payassure. I rmbr you mentioned before that DII will also be useful for singles? Also, once we signed this policy and gave our salary, does it mean we can't change the 75% payout anymore? What if our salary increases?

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Does it make sense for you to buy local shares with CPF OA money?
After you’ve exhausted opportunities for OA to SA transfers (yourself) and OA to RA transfers (your eligible family members), and if you have a long enough time horizon, yes, I think so.

What happens in the event of stock split and you don't have the min balance to take advantage of the split or other possible corporate actions?
I wouldn’t buy individual shares. Probably you’d just pick ES3 or G3B which are unlikely to have the problems you describe. Also bear in mind the CPF Investment Scheme bank charges initial and ongoing fees per counter, so you’re penalized if you hold more than one counter.

BBC, currently i have DII with GE Payassure. I rmbr you mentioned before that DII will also be useful for singles?
Absolutely. You are your own dependent as long as you’re alive. If you cannot afford being unable to work for the rest of your life starting tomorrow, then you need DII.

Also, once we signed this policy and gave our salary, does it mean we can't change the 75% payout anymore? What if our salary increases?
All the carriers require some form of new underwriting when you want to increase the monthly payout. That could be just a questionnaire or sometimes a medical exam. The carrier might or might not require a new (second) policy number. Which also means the second policy doesn’t have to be from the same carrier as long as the 75% (or 50% for the MINDEF/MHA group DII) limit is respected when the policies payouts are added up.
 

BBCWatcher

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London Stock Exchange Traders Want Shorter Hours

The LSE may make a change, which would have a very slight effect on Singapore-based investors in the popular global stock index funds (IWDA, VWRA, and others): you may have to submit your buy orders an hour later. However, compressing the trading day might improve liquidity slightly.
 

Kaypohji

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Hi BBCW

if one can’t buy the integrated medishield plan due to pre existing condition, what other plans and options are there available ?
 

BBCWatcher

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if one can’t buy the integrated medishield plan due to pre existing condition, what other plans and options are there available ?
In no particular order:


  • MediShield Life
  • international medical tourism
  • employer-provided group medical insurance
  • certain “expat-style” global medical insurance
  • MediSave
  • cash
  • MediFund
 

celtosaxon

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Here is something very basic that I should know... but I do not.

Let’s say my wife sees a doctor (outpatient) and is able to use her MediSave to pay the bill. My employer also covers her (self-insured, no policy), so I am able to submit the receipt for an 80% cash reimbursement in my payroll. The remaining 20% can be claimed through my employer tax advantaged flexible spending account. Is it ok to claim all on the same bill?

What if it was inpatient, in that case my employer coverage for her is through Great Eastern, would that make any difference?
 

BBCWatcher

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Let’s say my wife sees a doctor (outpatient) and is able to use her MediSave to pay the bill. My employer also covers her (self-insured, no policy), so I am able to submit the receipt for an 80% cash reimbursement in my payroll. The remaining 20% can be claimed through my employer tax advantaged flexible spending account. Is it ok to claim all on the same bill?
Let's take a look at what the CPF Board says in the relevant portions of their MediSave FAQ (click on the FAQ tab, then on MediSave/MediShield Life Reimbursement):

CPF Board said:
Q. Can my employer or insurer pay me in cash if I have used my MediSave Account to pay my medical expenses?

A. Your employer or insurer cannot pay you in cash for the part of your medical bill that has been paid using your MediSave. The cash must be refunded to your MediSave Account. However, if you have used cash or MediShield Life to pay part of your medical bill, your employer or insurer has to refund you in the order of:

i. your cash outlay
ii. payment from your MediSave Account
iii. payment from your MediShield Life, if any.

Q. If I have received reimbursement from my employer/insurer for medical bills paid using my MediSave account (MA), how do I return the monies to my MA?

A. If you have received reimbursement from your employer or insurer, you may send us the amount via a cheque, with a copy of your medical bill and a letter to inform us of the request. The cheque is to be paid to "CPF Board".

You can send the documents to:

Central Provident Fund Board
MediSave and Healthcare Claims Department
238B Thomson Road
#08-00 Tower B Novena Square
Singapore 307685

Q. Who is required to reimburse my MediSave Account for my hospitalisation expenses?

A. Third parties who have a contractual obligation (e.g. your insurer/employer) are required to reimburse your MediSave Account for your hospitalisation expenses.

Q. Can an overseas insurance company disburse the approved claim to my MediSave Account by telegraphic transfer or only by cheque?

A. Your insurer may submit reimbursements to MediSave and MediShield Life electronically via http://www.cpf.gov.sg/. To access the MediSave/MediShield Life Internet Reimbursement service, please log on to http://www.cpf.gov.sg/ and go to Employers => E-Services => MediSave/MediShield Reimbursement. There are currently 2 modes of online reimbursement submissions available: (i) E-File and (ii) E-Form.
OK, so let's summarize:

1. You may use MediSave dollars to pay for qualified medical expenses in Singapore(*), whether yours or your qualified family member's.

2. Your insurer or employer has an obligation to pay directly into MediSave if the reimbursement exceeds your cash outlay. (Your U.S. FSA counts as cash for these purposes.)

3. Regardless of whether your insurer or employer actually does this all correctly and automatically (as they're supposed to do), you are ultimately responsible for making your own MediSave account whole again if/as required. In other words, spent MediSave dollars must remain only with the provider and cannot remain in your hands.

4. The total employer/insurer reimbursement cannot exceed the total claimable outlay (cash and MediSave). You cannot "double dip," a form of insurance fraud. (Also potentially tax fraud if you don't declare it as income.)

To make sure this all works in practice, you'll want to make sure that the receipt you submit clearly indicates what portion of the bill was paid using MediSave (it should), then specifically remind the employer how to handle that, especially if this is your first time at this rodeo. Let's suppose for example the bill is S$1,000. Your wife used S$200 of her MediSave and the rest you paid in cash (S$800). You're then allowed to pull the U.S. dollar equivalent of S$200 (20%) out of your U.S. Flexible Spending Account (assuming this expense otherwise qualifies), and your employer covers the other 80% (S$800) and is supposed to reimburse you S$600 in cash and S$200 into your wife's MediSave Account. If the employer "screws up" and sends S$800, then your wife is required to redeposit the S$200 in MediSave funds via the instructions the CPF Board provides. If (let's suppose) the employer reimburses S$1,200 (double counts the MediSave redeposit for example -- puts S$200 into your wife's MediSave and sends you S$200 too much in cash), then you have to send the extra S$200 back to the employer because the total claimable outlay was only S$1,000.

Does all that make enough sense at least?

What if it was inpatient, in that case my employer coverage for her is through Great Eastern, would that make any difference?
Perhaps. The more "Singaporean" the insurance company or employer is with respect to settling medical claims, the more likely it is they'll get the MediSave part done correctly. But as the CPF Board points out, the insurer or employer doesn't have to be "Singaporean." In principle CPF accepts MediSave redeposits from any insurer or employer. You'll have to coach the "alien" insurer/employer to explain how they can pay into MediSave directly (and why it's your wife's MediSave account). But you're not required to coach the overseas insurer/employer and can just use the postal MediSave redeposit method. Likewise, the overseas insurer/employer isn't required to go to some CPF Board Web site and.... ("What is it you want us to do? Really? Seriously?")

By the way, you really want to follow the CPF Board's instructions about MediSave redeposits, because otherwise the money might get tagged improperly as a MediSave top up, meaning it's eligible for tax relief and must fit within the CPF Annual Limit. A MediSave top up is a different beast altogether.

Now I turn to the question of whether it's wise to use MediSave dollars if they're only going to get reimbursed a month or two later back into MediSave. Answer: "Maybe." Here are the scenarios when I think it makes sense to do this:

1. If you're strapped for cash, and the alternative to using MediSave dollars is a personal loan at 6.4+% interest or credit card debt at 20+% interest (as examples). Borrowing from your MediSave Account costs 4% p.a. (with a minimum one month of interest loss), and that's certainly a better deal than a 12 month personal loan or any credit card debt.

2. If you have room below the CPF Annual Limit, your MediSave Account is pegged to the Basic Healthcare Sum (S$60,000 in 2020), and you want to squeeze in a MediSave top up with tax relief. In the example above there's a S$200 deduction from MediSave, and so as soon as that deduction appears you'd swoop in with a $200 top up, before the payroll cycle hits. Then the insurer/employer, or you, redeposits the S$200, but since your MediSave Account is "full" the redeposit spills over into your Special Account (if below the Full Retirement Sum) or into your Ordinary Account. Yes, you lose a month of interest on that S$200 (i.e. about S$0.67), but if you're in the 11.5% tax bracket you get S$23 of income tax savings.(**) Plus you get a little bit of bank interest on the S$200 of cash you didn't use to pay the medical bill. Good deal!

Assuming you're still with me in understanding all this, let's suppose that you're a couple and both have MediSave accounts. (Not your situation as I recall, but let's suppose.) Both MediSave accounts are "full" (pegged at the Basic Healthcare Sum). Spouse #1 is in the higher tax bracket but unfortunately expects to hit the CPF Annual Limit. Spouse #2 is in a lower tax bracket and expects not to hit the CPF Annual Limit. In this example, Spouse #2 should handle qualified medical spending for the household from his/her MediSave account, assuming he/she is going to swoop in with MediSave top ups (with tax relief) immediately after any deduction.

....Whew, I'll stop there. ;) Does all that make sense?

(*) There are rare cases involving planned overseas treatment from MediSave/MediShield Life-qualified providers when MediSave dollars can be used.

(**) Singapore income tax savings. Another tax jurisdiction, notably the IRS for U.S. persons, might effectively claw some of this tax savings back depending on your situation.
 
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celtosaxon

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Wow.. that was quite an answer!

I will need to re-read that a few times just to grasp it in its entirety. But, it sounds like generally, claims made on MediSave have to be repaid IF reimbursed by any other entity.

We normally leave her MediSave alone and just claim on my company to the extent possible.

The flexible spending account is actually a local, non-U.S. benefit. It consists of around S$2,000 annually to either top-up core insurance benefits and/or reimburse any medical that is not reimbursable otherwise. Depending on the expense, it might be taxable & CPF-able, non-taxable and CPF-able, or non-taxable and non-CPF-able.
 

manlymanly

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Seek advice on how to optimize portfolio

Hi BBCW, I would like to seek some advice from you on how to optimize my portfolio. Many thanks in advance.

I bought a resale HDB flat 4 years ago under singles scheme when I turned 35. Owe CPF OA $125k for loan repayment in the past few years, and also owe accrued interested of $11k. I still have a 21-year mortgage of $396k that I'm servicing with $2k cash every month, at 1.92% interest.

Currently I have assets of -
$510k in cash & bonds ($100k) and ETFs and shares ($410k)
$160k in SRS in STI ETF and local blue chips
$165k in CPF OA in STI ETF (40%) and cash
$163k in CPF SA in cash
$60k in CPF MA

Every month, I take home 8k net of CPF and set aside for spending -
$600 food, transport, utilities and charity
$500 allowance to mum
$800 on whole life, ILP insurance, income tax
$300 on big ticket items like traveling, iPhone, laptop
I get a fixed bonus and save about $50-70k a year in the past few years, which I mostly invest in ETFs and shares via dca to IWDA.

I have chartered accountant qualification but I don't have career ambition. I'm in a relatively low paying job (compared to other experienced accountants), but I get recognized for good performance and rewarded with work life balance to do volunteer work. I don't expect my income to increase by more than 3-4% in the next few years, and it may even drop significantly if energy industry doesn't do well. I'm 39 and have no dependents (my mum and sibling are already financially independent). No intention to get married and start family. I hope to stay in the same company (been here >10 years) as it is quite stable, I have a good network, and medical benefits are great. I hope to retire before I turn 50, to spend more time on volunteer work and spiritual pursuit. When I die my money will go to temples, charities and legacy to my mum and sibing, cousins and friends. My long term financial goals is to support my retirement ($1,500/mo in today's dollars).

I think, except for a few years of mindless spending when I was in my 20s, I have done ok financially (not great but ok). But I feel a little stuck with my portfolio and would like to seek advice on how to optimize.


1) Should I pay back CPF OA loan and accrued interest of $136k? The money will earns 2.5% risk-free interest (for now). But that will also mean I'll have less capital to invest in the stock market. Also, how can I further optimize my CPF accounts?

2) Should I cancel my AXA WL insurance 50k CI/ death? My mom bought the WL when I was studying and I've been paying for the past 20+ year. Cash value is $16k, I paid $32k premium over the years. According to the latest statement I'll likely breakeven in 10 years.

3) Should I cancel my HSBC ILP insurance 200k CI/ 100k death? I bought this before I was more woke. Cash value $36k now, I paid $39+k over 13+ years.

For insurance, a consideration is, because of a breast lump 10 years ago, I cannot get new insurance now without high loading or exclusion, even with no detection of cancer and regular checkup. I asked about DII before but it seems like it would also cost more because of pre-existing breast lump issue. I'm covered by good company medical benefits as long as I'm working here, and also have a private shield plan.

4) What should I do with SRS monies? My blue chips made some gains in the recent spike and I just sold them two days ago. The best low cost option seem to be STI ETF, but the local portion of my portfolio will be >50% if I pay back my CPF OA loan (treating that as bond component), so I'd like to more global exposure.

5) Is is possible to retire before 50? What is a good ballpark sum for a simple retirement? I hope to stay in the same flat and not have to sell it to fund my retirement.

Any general advice on optimizing would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking to simplify as much as I can so that I can spend time on other things like spiritual learnings and volunteer work.
 

yellownova

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Hi BBC, I have an old whole life insurance which apparently has a lump sum TPD, total and permanent disability? Should I still be getting a DII?

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BBCWatcher

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The flexible spending account is actually a local, non-U.S. benefit. It consists of around S$2,000 annually to either top-up core insurance benefits and/or reimburse any medical that is not reimbursable otherwise. Depending on the expense, it might be taxable & CPF-able, non-taxable and CPF-able, or non-taxable and non-CPF-able.
It'll almost surely be U.S. taxable if it's interest bearing, if it's held by a U.S. person. MediSave interest is.

I bought a resale HDB flat 4 years ago under singles scheme when I turned 35. Owe CPF OA $125k for loan repayment in the past few years, and also owe accrued interested of $11k. I still have a 21-year mortgage of $396k that I'm servicing with $2k cash every month, at 1.92% interest.
That's a nice low mortgage interest rate.

Currently I have assets of -
$510k in cash & bonds ($100k) and ETFs and shares ($410k)
$160k in SRS in STI ETF and local blue chips
$165k in CPF OA in STI ETF (40%) and cash
$163k in CPF SA in cash
$60k in CPF MA
So I'll just note here that your CPF SA is $18K shy of the 2020 Full Retirement Sum. You could make a $7,000 top up with tax relief if you haven't already, then transfer OA dollars into SA to fill it up. You currently have about $99K worth of OA (outside the CPF Investment Scheme) which represents about 49 months of mortgage payments. Even if you transferred $18K from OA you'd still have $81K of OA which represents 40 months of mortgage payments. That's quite a nice buffer, I'd say.

Every month, I take home 8k net of CPF and set aside for spending -
$600 food, transport, utilities and charity
$500 allowance to mum
$800 on whole life, ILP insurance, income tax
Ick on the two insurance products. And where's your Disability Income Insurance?

$300 on big ticket items like traveling, iPhone, laptop
I get a fixed bonus and save about $50-70k a year in the past few years, which I mostly invest in ETFs and shares via dca to IWDA.
Awesome.

I have chartered accountant qualification but I don't have career ambition. I'm in a relatively low paying job (compared to other experienced accountants), but I get recognized for good performance and rewarded with work life balance to do volunteer work. I don't expect my income to increase by more than 3-4% in the next few years, and it may even drop significantly if energy industry doesn't do well. I'm 39 and have no dependents (my mum and sibling are already financially independent). No intention to get married and start family. I hope to stay in the same company (been here >10 years) as it is quite stable, I have a good network, and medical benefits are great. I hope to retire before I turn 50, to spend more time on volunteer work and spiritual pursuit. When I die my money will go to temples, charities and legacy to my mum and sibing, cousins and friends. My long term financial goals is to support my retirement ($1,500/mo in today's dollars).

I think, except for a few years of mindless spending when I was in my 20s, I have done ok financially (not great but ok). But I feel a little stuck with my portfolio and would like to seek advice on how to optimize.
I think you're well on your way. Congratulations.

1) Should I pay back CPF OA loan and accrued interest of $136k? The money will earns 2.5% risk-free interest (for now). But that will also mean I'll have less capital to invest in the stock market.
No, I don't think so. You're correct that's a 2.5% proposition, but you have two better choices ahead of that: (1) a $7,000 top up to your SA (as mentioned), and (2) an "all three account" Voluntary Contribution that fits within the CPF Annual Limit. Let's suppose for example you have $10,500 per year of total gross variable pay (a traditional "13th month") but no other variable pay. That should mean you'd have $7,215 of room below the CPF Annual Limit. Some of your "all three account" VC will land in your Special Account where it earns 4% interest, not 2.5% interest.

But even if you do those two things I still don't think you'd use your next/extra dollars to repay OA. You've got plenty of mortgage buffer, so I think you'd just deploy those extra dollars into your long-term portfolio per your desired allocations -- increase your dollar cost averaging, basically.

Also, how can I further optimize my CPF accounts?
Well, in addition to the ideas mentioned you're free to top up your mother's Retirement Account and/or transfer OA dollars into her RA. If you are your mother's CPF nominee they're coming back to you one way or another anyway, but they'll earn 4% interest in the meantime. You're already supporting her financially, so as her retirement income increases you can ratchet down your monthly cash support, if you wish.

2) Should I cancel my AXA WL insurance 50k CI/ death? My mom bought the WL when I was studying and I've been paying for the past 20+ year. Cash value is $16k, I paid $32k premium over the years. According to the latest statement I'll likely breakeven in 10 years.
It's something to consider. You don't need the life insurance part since you have no dependents except perhaps your mother, and you can self-insure her nicely now. For much the same reason a $50K CI payout doesn't seem that exciting. It'd be some single digit percentage of your net worth no matter how you count it. Do you have the latest benefit illustration available? There might be someone willing to buy it off you for more than the insurance company is offering -- that sometimes happens.

3) Should I cancel my HSBC ILP insurance 200k CI/ 100k death? I bought this before I was more woke. Cash value $36k now, I paid $39+k over 13+ years.
Similar discussion to above, really. ILPs are generally pretty dreadful.

For insurance, a consideration is, because of a breast lump 10 years ago, I cannot get new insurance now without high loading or exclusion, even with no detection of cancer and regular checkup. I asked about DII before but it seems like it would also cost more because of pre-existing breast lump issue. I'm covered by good company medical benefits as long as I'm working here, and also have a private shield plan.
Have you checked all three DII carriers? Another possible option is to buy into CareShield Life when it's available in mid 2021. That's a very tough disability definition, but it's something.

4) What should I do with SRS monies? My blue chips made some gains in the recent spike and I just sold them two days ago. The best low cost option seem to be STI ETF, but the local portion of my portfolio will be >50% if I pay back my CPF OA loan (treating that as bond component), so I'd like to more global exposure.
You could take a look at the LionGlobal "All Seasons" unit trust through a zero fee platform that supports SRS. That's not a terrible option, although some higher cost is intrinsic to SRS accounts.

5) Is is possible to retire before 50? What is a good ballpark sum for a simple retirement? I hope to stay in the same flat and not have to sell it to fund my retirement.
Yes, I think so in your case if you're OK with a fairly modest lifestyle. You have low overheads, what seem to be good earning/spending/saving habits, and you're at least going to have a Full Retirement Sum level CPF LIFE ahead of you. Maybe ease into part-time accounting (at concessionary wage rates) for nonprofits starting around age 50?

Any general advice on optimizing would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking to simplify as much as I can so that I can spend time on other things like spiritual learnings and volunteer work.
Mainly "keep up the good work(s)." ;)
 

BBCWatcher

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Hi BBC, I have an old whole life insurance which apparently has a lump sum TPD, total and permanent disability? Should I still be getting a DII?
Yes. TPD is very difficult to claim and generally won't replace very much lost income.
 

Sweetangtang

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Hi BBCW,

I would like to seek your opinion. I am turning 35 this year and just started my investing journey with small amount. I am also getting married next year with plans to get a 4RM resale flat with a budget of 450-500K. Both me and my fiancee are working. I earn about 5.8K monthly while she earns 4K monthly. Currently I DCA 500$ (60% STI ETF, 40% MBH) every month via FSMOne. I also just started investing 250$ monthly in SYFE 100% reits. I am now looking at investing in foreign etf and would like to add VWRA for diversification. I am planning to do it long term for about 20 years with investment of 500$ monthly in VWRA. May I know which platform will you recommend? And when is the good time to do it? We plan to have kids 2 years later.

I am also looking at cpf as another form of diversification. I have plan to top up 7K yearly. I have about 141K in my OA and my fiancee has about 77K in her OA. I have plan to tell her that we will use cpf OA for the HDB down payment and for monthly installment, we will use cash to pay. Do you recommend HDB loan or Bank loan and how long the tenure should we take? We will both keep about 20K behind in OA for emergency fund for our monthly installment. How much should we keep for our OA as I am thinking the balance can be transferred to SA. I have about 41K in my SA and 54K in my MA. Should I top up my MA first before the 7000 yearly to my SA? And when is the good time to do the OA transfer to SA and also also topping up the MA and SA respectively?

I am personally covered for AIA Term insurance with TPD and CI rider until 60yo and AIA Max essential A. Do you think is wise for me downgrade to AIA A Saver?

Appreciate your advise and guidance. Thank you!
 

chows99

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Hi BBC

May i seek your opinion on legacy plan from GE which is a single premium plan with guaranteed and non guaranteed bonuses?

The selling point is you only need to come out with the estimated 30% down payment and the rest of the premium can be financed by bank with interest tagged to sibor. The income generated by the legacy plan will cover the monthly financing. Its concept is similar to buying a investment property for tenancy but in a more simpler manner.

Appreciate your kind advice.
 

mattressmattress

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Hi there BBCW!

27M, non smoker here. Currently I have a whole life plan (death, tpd, CI, 150k till age 70, 50k from age 70 onwards). Payment term is ($200 per month for 20 years), I have this plan for 2 years now. Should I continue with it or surrender and switch to term. If I surrender, will not be able to get back a single cent.

Additionally have an ILP (death, tpd, CI, 100k throughout). Payment term is ($100 per month till forever). I have taken over this plan from my parents since the start of the year, this plan has been around for 20 years already. Should I continue with this plan or just surrender and give the whatever is of the surrender value to my parents since they paid for the bulk of it?

Would like to have your advice, much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 

BBCWatcher

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I would like to seek your opinion. I am turning 35 this year and just started my investing journey with small amount. I am also getting married next year with plans to get a 4RM resale flat with a budget of 450-500K.
Congratulations on the marriage! Of course you'll need to muster a down payment (some of which can be from CPF Ordinary Accounts if you wish) and a certain amount of budget for settling in, and that particular portion of your combined household wealth should be in something short-term and safe.

Both me and my fiancee are working.
Just remember next time that your fiancée (and then spouse) always comes first. ;)

I earn about 5.8K monthly while she earns 4K monthly. Currently I DCA 500$ (60% STI ETF, 40% MBH) every month via FSMOne. I also just started investing 250$ monthly in SYFE 100% reits.
I don't like that last one at all, and just a comment here (that you've already realized) that you're 100% invested in Singapore-based assets. That's not what I'd consider "at least reasonably well diversified" since you're lacking geographic distribution, and I think it's important to have some diversification to improve the odds of a more successful, long-term outcome. But it looks like you've already figured that out, so that's great.

I am now looking at investing in foreign etf and would like to add VWRA for diversification. I am planning to do it long term for about 20 years with investment of 500$ monthly in VWRA. May I know which platform will you recommend?
At that pace you're probably going to be best served (currently) by Standard Chartered, with S$1,500 buys every calendar quarter let's suppose. If you could drop the S-REIT and do S$1,500 every two months (or S$2,250 every quarter), that'd be even better in my view.

And when is the good time to do it? We plan to have kids 2 years later.
Well, you already have a long-term investment flow with a lack of geographic diversity, so you'd fix that now. Whether your household should have a long-term investment flow (above CPF) at all primarily depends on whether you have set aside sufficient emergency reserve funds and covered your genuine insurance necessities first. (Plus you've got the home purchase coming up, but I assume you've both set aside some OA and cash for that.) If that's all done, congratulations, carry on.

I am also looking at cpf as another form of diversification. I have plan to top up 7K yearly. I have about 141K in my OA and my fiancee has about 77K in her OA. I have plan to tell her that we will use cpf OA for the HDB down payment and for monthly installment, we will use cash to pay.
You'll still need some cash. Also take a look at how much OA you actually need (for the portion that can be used for a down payment and for mortgage servicing) since $218K seems like rather a lot. If you have surplus/excess OA (likely), then consider transferring the surplus/excess to SA. And try to do that in a balanced way on a household basis. Your fiancée's SA is probably lower than yours too (and with less tax relief), so that's probably the first SA in the house that ought to get some OA to SA transfer love. But both are possible.

Do you recommend HDB loan or Bank loan and how long the tenure should we take?
For tenure, that's easy: take the longest offered as long as there are no worse terms and conditions. You can always make a longer term mortgage a shorter one by accelerating repayment (as long as there's no prepayment penalty -- and make sure there isn't after the fixed interest rate period), but not the other way around (without refinancing, which may not be possible). It's probably not wise to accelerate repayment, but it's possible.

As far as HDB loan versus bank loan, that's a really interesting question. I'd say for a bank loan I'm just not interested in anything linked to an interest rate that the lender solely controls (for hopefully obvious reasons), so that really means looking for SIBOR-linked loans. You have a bigger down payment (OA and cash) you have to make with a bank loan. You can turn a HDB loan into a bank loan via refinancing, but not the other way around. And a HDB loan is less likely to rise above 2.6%, and if it does it'll only do so if the OA interest rate rises above its floor. HDB tends to be a very lenient lender if the household encounters tough times, and the Home Protection Scheme isn't a bad thing. If you value stability, a HDB loan is really terrific. But then there are those sub-2.0% interest rates right now. And if you take a HDB loan there's the "HDB sweep," which only allows you to keep $20K each in your Ordinary Accounts. (Although you've anticipated this. OA to SA transfers neatly take care of that problem.)

It's a tough decision, truly. Both offers are quite excellent in their own ways, and it's always tough to choose between two great offers. If it were me I think I'd take the HDB loan since that'll allow you to preserve some more cash and liquidity outside CPF, not a bad thing when you're planning to start a family. You'll probably will need a little more life insurance, and the HPS is a nice affordable way to get a form of life insurance. Plus you can change your mind later on as your leasehold equity grows.

Speaking of which, will this resale unit have a remaining leasehold that takes the youngest spouse at least to age 110? I think that's a prudent thing to do if you can afford it, and judging by the estimated purchase price and unit size that seems like it's what you're doing. If the youngest spouse is age 30 right now, then a unit with 80 or more years of leasehold remaining gets the job done.

We will both keep about 20K behind in OA for emergency fund for our monthly installment.
That's all you're allowed to keep with a HDB loan -- or rather $20K per spouse ($40K total). But that's usually a good amount of buffer, and (if you want it to) the buffer builds back up after you pick up the keys and continue working. Yes, OA to SA transfers and (secondarily, once your SA hits the Full Retirement Sum) the CPF Investment Scheme (OA) can "shield" from the sweep.

How much should we keep for our OA as I am thinking the balance can be transferred to SA. I have about 41K in my SA and 54K in my MA.
Ooops, one of these OA figures is not right. Is the figure above actually the total CPF number (OA+SA+MA)?

You really just want to estimate how much "buffer" you feel comfortable maintaining in terms of months of mortgage payments. And you'd probably just use the HDB loan monthly payment (at maximum available term) as your payment estimate, even if you haven't made a decision about financing yet. Do that on a household basis, so you can maintain up to S$40K in your OAs ($20K each) with a HDB loan. How many months of loan payments does S$40K represent? It should be a pretty good number, actually.

Should I top up my MA first before the 7000 yearly to my SA?
I would if you're chasing tax relief. MA funds can be useful at any/every age, they also earn 4%, and they're tougher to squeeze in as your progress in your career because they must fit within both the CPF Annual Limit and Basic Healthcare Sum. Also, once your MA hits the BHS those MA dollars from your compulsory contributions "spill over" into your SA and fill it up to the Full Retirement Sum, and so does MA interest. (Then, with MA at BHS and SA at FRS, the MA portion of compulsory contributions "double spills" into OA.) So those spillovers start to light a rocket under your SA anyway. It doesn't work the other way around -- there's no "spillover" from SA to MA.

And when is the good time to do the OA transfer to SA and also also topping up the MA and SA respectively?
OA to SA transfers you should do as soon as you identify a "surplus" dollar in OA. That could be every month, as payroll contributions stream in. But you want to try to do it strictly before the end of the month, even if that's 11:00 p.m. on the last day of the month. If your payroll contributions are typically landing in your CPF accounts on the last or second to last day of the month, then it's advantageous to swoop in and do the transfer within that same month if possible. That's because the dollars transferred start earning the higher SA interest backdated to the first of the same calendar month.

For MA and SA top ups, much same thing: second to last day of the month via PayNow QR, I'd recommend. That's because the cash you're using to make the top ups is presumably earning a little bit of interest outside CPF, and CPF won't pay any interest on those top ups until starting the first day of the next calendar month, so near the end of the month is good. One exception: if you're trying to beat a payroll cycle. For example, the Basic Healthcare Sum is raised on January 1, and that could open up a gap between your MA balance and the new BHS. Your December payroll cycle might get credited on January 10th (let's suppose). In that case you might want to beat the payroll cycle with a MA top up on January 6th (let's suppose), assuming you don't expect to exceed the CPF Annual Limit in that new year and want to get some tax relief.

I am personally covered for AIA Term insurance with TPD and CI rider until 60yo and AIA Max essential A. Do you think is wise for me downgrade to AIA A Saver?
Yes, or the new rider. The "zero dollar" riders never made much financial sense in this country with compulsory medical savings. Capping out of pocket costs for covered services is a good thing for insurance to do, but zero deductibles and co-pays is unnecessary. Keep in mind a private hospital plan of any sort is quite expensive, and you'll experience the double joys of higher medical inflation and age-based premium escalations aboard this particular train.

Where's your disability income insurance (DII)? ;)

May i seek your opinion on legacy plan from GE which is a single premium plan with guaranteed and non guaranteed bonuses?

The selling point is you only need to come out with the estimated 30% down payment and the rest of the premium can be financed by bank with interest tagged to sibor. The income generated by the legacy plan will cover the monthly financing. Its concept is similar to buying a investment property for tenancy but in a more simpler manner.
Well, what's the spread above SIBOR, what's the insurer guaranteed return, and what pain is involved to get out (what's the surrender value look like initially and over time)? Presumably this isn't a sure fire money making machine.

For perspective, Interactive Brokers is currently (as I write this) charging a 1.56%/year margin interest rate on U.S. dollar margin. You could borrow on margin at that rate, in that currency, to go do anything IB can facilitate with U.S. dollars. Is that wise? Well....
 

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27M, non smoker here. Currently I have a whole life plan (death, tpd, CI, 150k till age 70, 50k from age 70 onwards). Payment term is ($200 per month for 20 years), I have this plan for 2 years now. Should I continue with it or surrender and switch to term. If I surrender, will not be able to get back a single cent.
It looks like you could get S$200K of term life insurance coverage to age 65 including TPD and simple CI acceleration for S$368 annually for 37 years, which we'll round to S$31/month (i.e. a S$169/month lower premium). That's per Comparefirst.sg, Tokio Marine, male nonsmoker born on January 1, 1993. Your current plan will require $43,200 more in premiums ($200/month for 18 years), front loaded into the next 18 years, while this $200K policy requires a total of $13,616, less front loaded, and even assuming you take it all the way to age 65 which you're not required to do.

If you take that S$169/month, save it, and generate even 2.0% nominal interest compounded annually then you'll have S$43,424 after 18 years. Then you have 19 more years for that S$43,424 to grow at 2% while paying S$31/month premiums. At age 65 you thus end up with S$54,874 in cash, which is more than the S$50K CI benefit after age 70. So you would apparently have 33% more coverage to age 65 (when you need it -- kids in the house, etc.), less insurance coverage from age 65 to 70 (but at least S$54,874 more cash), then quite a lot of cash thereafter (more than S$54,874 since that sum had 5 more years to grow). And that's with only a 2.0% nominal interest rate assumption. You can get 4.0% from a CPF Special Account for example, maybe even with tax relief. Even OA is paying 2.5% (on a loan repayment for example) -- not necessarily a recommendation, but it's a point of reference.

....See why we say "buy term, invest the rest"? Run the numbers your own ways, though. And don't worry about what you already paid -- the "sunk cost fallacy." If there's a better deal available, great.

Additionally have an ILP (death, tpd, CI, 100k throughout). Payment term is ($100 per month till forever). I have taken over this plan from my parents since the start of the year, this plan has been around for 20 years already. Should I continue with this plan or just surrender and give the whatever is of the surrender value to my parents since they paid for the bulk of it?
ILPs are generally dreadful, but if you'd like to post the latest benefit illustration (or quote the figures anyway) for someone (not me) to examine, you'll probably get some good advice and perhaps even a third party buyout offer or two. There are some people who are in that line of business.

Do you have Disability Income Insurance (DII)?
 
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