In keynote address at Life Insurance Association 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner, Ravi Menon, Managing Director of MAS said:
Saving for the future, investing for returns, and protecting against risk – these are the fundamentals of managing our finances. Yet so few of us do it well. We are far better at earning an income than investing it and protecting against risk.
As an affluent individual, you already have the knowledge and abilities to make good income and may have accumulated substantial wealth. However, your challenge always lies in protecting this wealth for the next generation and ensuring the growth.
This becomes especially more difficult today when interest rate is extremely low and stock market is uncertain.
If you are comfortable with US dollar exposure, the AIA Platinum Legacy series plans may come in handy.
AIA Platinum Legacy is a universal life insurance and the premium is typically paid on a lump sum basis. Universal life plans offer whole of life death coverage are different from traditional whole life insurance products, whose cash value is dependent on the investment performance of the insurer’s life fund. Instead, the cash values of universal life products are dependent on so-called ‘interest-crediting rates’ declared by the firm. Most of these plans come with a minimum guaranteed interest rate.
AIA Platinum Legacy offer a guaranteed minimum crediting interest rate of 2% for life time. 2% is contractual minimum. In reality, even with the current near zero interest rate environment, it is still offering 4.5% interest rate now.
One key advantage is that a universal life policy is not an off-the-shelf product. It can be tailor-made to suit the needs of you. Moreover, you can surrender your policy or make partial withdrawals to cash out the accumulation value even after first year (with much less penalty comparing to traditional whole life insurance where you get back nothing for the first two years). You can also choose to settle the premium with Multipay.
If you choose No Lapse privilege feature, it keeps your policy in force even when the accumulation value becomes zero or less than zero (subject to minimum premium requirements being met).
The product was enhanced since May last year with the following features:
- Guaranteed crediting rate on the Initial Premium for the first 7 years;
- No Lapse Privilege to age 111;
- New A+ country grouping for Singapore residents;
- Shorter Surrender Charge period and lower Surrender Charge;
- Accelerated Terminal Illness benefit;
- More premium payment choices.
You can contact me if you are interested in this product.
