Jonathan Chua

Riders work well when they are designed to reduce or eliminate additional expenses HEALTH INSURANCE RIDER:​do you need to add this to your insurance? A health care insurance rider can help take the sting out of large medical bills, allowing policyholders to pay next to nothing or nothing for their treatments. This is because hospitalisation plans typically don’t cover a full medical bill. The insured has to pay a portion of the bill, such as a deductible (the threshold at which the insurance company will start to reimburse the insured for treatments) and a co-payment (the percentage of the rest of the bill that the insured pays). For example, if the bill is $10,000, the deductible amount is $3,000, and the co-insurance percentage is 10 per cent, the insured will have to pay the first $3,000, plus 10 per cent of the remaining $7,000 before insurance kicks in. In other words, he pays $3,700 and the insurance company pays $6,300. Hospital bills for major ailments and critical illnesses ca...

When you retire When it comes to financial planning, small and specific goals are best. Aspiring to make $15,000 or $25,000 a month without working is all well and good, but don’t forget to take concrete steps to secure a realistic amount. With some discipline and prudence, it’s not unrealistic to aim for an extra $1,500 a month (on top of CPF payouts) after retirement. First of all, why an extra $1,500 a month?  An extra $1,500 a month may not seem dramatic but its effects on retirement can be life changing. Consider that the average Singaporean, who retires with the Full Retirement Sum of $166,000 in CPF, will only get around $1,280 to $1,380 per month (estimated payout via CPF LIFE). That comes to about $44 per day. If that seems enough to you, you’re forgetting to account for the effect of inflation.  Let’s assume an inflation rate of 3% per annum and look ahead 25 years. At that rate, something that costs a dollar today will, by rough estimate, cost around $2.09 by ...

If you’ve been in an accident and your vehicle has been damaged, you're likely hoping to receive enough money from an insurance claim, minus your deductible, to cover the related expenses. It's not always that easy, though, because the insurance company also is trying to save as much money as possible and not pay you any more than they absolutely have to. Expect your insurer to do everything it can to make sure it is paying no more money than necessary, and that might include finding cause to deny your claim in full or in part. After You File: Once you’ve completed the process of filing a claim with your car insurance company, a claims adjuster is usually assigned to your case. This person is an employee of the insurance company and is going to do as much work as is needed to pay you in a reasonable amount of time if your claim is legitimate and not pay you anything if it isn’t. This claims adjuster may contact you or your attorney for details and to confirm the information ...

No one wants to be caught short when a life crisis strikes, so it's no wonder that the risk of being financially unprepared tops the list of concerns among Singaporeans. Buying appropriate insurance cover is a way of transferring this risk and getting some protection, but how much is enough and what policies should you consider? A 2012 study by the Life Insurance Association Singapore (LIA) on under-insurance identified a $462 billion gap for working Singaporeans and permanent residents. source

How much money should you save each month? The simple answer is, as much as you can. Everyone makes a different amount each month. They also have different monthly financial obligations. It is important to realize that one dollar amount is not going to work for everyone. Here are some basic guidelines you should follow when determining how much you should save each month. The 10 Percent Rule: The standard that many experts set is at least 10 percent of your income. This is a good starting point. It is an easy way to start because it is a set amount of money each month. It should not be that difficult to save 10 percent of your income, but you may want to increase this amount over time. Eventually, you can work up to 20 or even 30 percent to increase your savings and plan for your future. Beyond Retirement Savings: It is important that you are saving in addition to the money you are putting in your retirement savings account. If you do not, you will never save up money for an emer...