Giving your Child a Headstart in Life!

The Sound Advice for the Month of June have come!
This month, we will be touching on the topic of "Giving your Child a Headstart in Life!"

Be it your clients, be it parents, soon-to-be parents, young or married couple or simply friends who want to know much more about the potential within a child, do invite them to this interesting and exciting seminar and be empowered with the following:

All parents wish for their children to grow up to be the best they can be.
However, have you ever wondered:
- Why as children grow up they become more rebellious and more difficult to talk to sometimes?
- What you as a parent can do to communicate better with your child?
- What your teenage children are really interested in today?
- What is the most appropriate way to give your child a headstart?
- Do you have in place the financial means to send your child to the tertiary institution he can qualify for?

Speakers:
Mr Gary Lee
Master Trainer
Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group

Mr Patrick Wong
Associate Manager
Great Eastern Life Assurance Co. Ltd.

Details:
Date : 23rd June 2007 (Saturday)
Time : 2.30pm to 4.00pm
Venue : Great Eastern Centre
Centre for Excellence

Refreshments will be provided after the seminar.

Please RSVP, click here for contact number

Do you have enough savings to send your children to University?

March 27, 2007

Which University?

For four years now, students have been able to apply to all three local universities, and choose where to go once acceptances come in. So the universities strive to be different - in their programmes, admission criteria and fees. The Straits Times Education Correspondent Sandra Davie takes a look at the choices offered by the universities

Degrees

THERE are the local single degrees, of course. A few years ago, double degrees were all the rage. Now it is the global degree route. These are proving popular as more companies look out for employees with a global outlook.

NUS: It offers the widest range of degrees among the three universities. Its exclusive courses are medicine, architecture, dentistry, music, pharmacy, nursing, and project and facilities management.

Global degrees:

Bachelor of Arts (Honours) with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Bachelor of Computing (Communications & Media) and Master in Entertainment Technology with Carnegie Mellon University.

Bachelor of Engineering (Civil Engineering) with the University of Melbourne.

NTU: It has expanded its range of courses in recent years to include social sciences and fine arts. Its exclusive offerings include art, design and media, aerospace engineering, communication studies, maritime studies and education (conducted by the National Institute of Education).

Global degrees:

Double degree in Biomedical Sciences and Medicine (Traditional Chinese Medicine) with Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

Double MBA degree programme in Management of Technology with Japan's Waseda University.

Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Science) from NTU and Master of Science (Computer Science) from Georgia Institute of Technology

SMU: Positioning itself as a boutique business university, it offers four-year, full-time programmes in accountancy, business, economics, information systems management and social science. It has introduced a new one, law, which will take in 90 students in its pioneer batch.

Global degrees:

Bachelor of Science (Information Systems Management) degree from SMU and master's degree from Carnegie Mellon University.

Fees

THE three universities announced in January that they will not raise tuition fees this year in view of the upcoming increase in goods and services tax (GST).

SMU, anyway, has a lock-in system for its fees, which will not be raised over the duration of one's course even if fees are increased for later intakes.

Some parents and students prefer this lock-in scheme, because it allows them to plan ahead and set aside a specific amount of money.

Both NUS and NTU have said they are considering a similar scheme.

NUS ANNUAL FEES

Dentistry and medicine: $17,520

Music: $7,570

Nursing: $7,000

All other courses: $6,110

NTU ANNUAL FEES $6,110

SMU ANNUAL FEES $7,500 (except law which is $9,000).

Example

If you are planning to send your child to University.

Gender: Female Age: 4 next birthday

For Singapore, using SMU annual fees of, $ 7,500.00

Age of entry to university 18 (Females)

This amount is needed for Years 4

Total amount needed for Local Course fees $ 30,000.00

Shortfall will be needed in Years 15

Education cost, I feel will increase annually by about 6%

Education Costs 15 years later $ 71,896.75 (after inflation)

SHORTFALL to Fund Education

Lump Sum in today dollars needed to meet the shortfall $ 53,420.34

OR Monthly savings per month for 15 years $ 342.26

Have you done your children's education planning?

Will you have enough savings when the times comes for your children's education?

Give your children a head start with an education policy!

Contact your reliable needs based-advisor on how to have a discipline savings plan that provide protection and education funds for your childrens University

Give your child a head start in life with an education policy!

April 2, 2007

Student loans: No defaults, say banks

By Cheryl Tan

LOAN SHIRK?: Better not default, or my guarantor will have to pick up the tab.

THEY may owe money, but they'll pay it back.

Banks offering student loans to undergraduates at Singapore's universities say they have yet to encounter defaulters. Some even repay their loans early.

That is a far cry from students in the United States.

In November, the USA Today newspaper cited a credit analysis report which stated that unpaid student loans had put two out of three million people in their 20s surveyed in bad debt.

Such loans, along with credit card debt, had even caused up to 1.5 million of those surveyed to stop repayments altogether, forcing lenders to sell these debts to a collection agency.

The worst cases have had their cars repossessed or sought bankruptcy protection.

Singapore students are another breed altogether.

Credit Counselling Singapore's assistant director Tan Huey Min said 20somethings do seek help after overspending on credit cards, but not for student loans.

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Just imagine your poor child with a huge loan to repay even before nailing a job! Give your children a head start in life with an education policy! There are numerous plans that provide a force savings for parents to provide a lump sum of monies to pay for their children’s education. Some of such insurance plans in Singapore are:-

Endowment

With the costs of higher education rising, it makes sense to plan for your child’s future by investing in Endowment Classic, a savings plan with potential higher returns than regular bank deposits that combines savings with protection in one plan.

Premiums on Endowment Classic are guaranteed, and you can choose to have the policy mature when your child is ready to enter university. The resulting returns from your sum assured, as well as all attaching bonuses, would come in handy when it’s time to pay those hefty tuition fees.

You are also covered against death and total and permanent disability should the unforeseen happen.

Life Policies with Savings rider

Whole life protection with premium payment required only for 20 years (Flexi20). Ideal for newborns - For example, sign up for a 1-year old infant and by the time the child is 21 years old, his policy would have been fully paid for. No additional premium is required while he continues to enjoy protection for life.

In the meantime the saving rider will mature at the university age yielding a lump sum amount for the child's education where ever he may wish to study. But the main policy continues providing protection and accumulation through out their life until surrender.

Life Policy using Investment linked products

GreatLink SupremeLife is an insurance policy designed to meet your protection and investment needs in a smart and secure way. It ensures you and your family are financially protected while investing for the future.

This comprehensive regular-premium investment-linked plan combines whole life protection with investment opportunities aimed at achieving returns on your savings. From a low minimum monthly premium of $100, you will enjoy protection benefits of the basic sum assured and the total investment value of your funds invested.

More importantly, SupremeLife gives you the control and flexibility to allocate more of your premium towards protection as your financial liability rises or potentially higher investment returns as your protection need decreases near retirement.

Which plans best suit your child or children?

Contact your reliable needs based adviser today!