Endowment Archives - My Sweet Retirement

China Taiping i-Save Plan Guaranteed Return of 2.18% per annum

April 19, 2020April 29, 2020 My Sweet Retirement Leave a comment

Do not get me wrong, I am not paid for this post and neither am I an insurance agent. With interest rates of Singapore Savings Bond falling and the recent stock market crashing due to COVID-19, I am on the lookout for lower risks investments.

If you are a follower of My Sweet Retirement, you know that I do not place all my eggs into a single basket. I place my monies in different investment instruments such as investments in the stock market, buying Singapore Savings Bond, buying short term endowment plans and fixed deposits. I also contribute to my Supplementary Scheme Retirement funds monthly. Subscribe to my post notification here if you are not yet a follower of My Sweet Retirement.

If you are wondering if I invest everything I have? The answer is no. I still have cash on hand in case I need the liquidity immediately. Now, let me introduce you to another Endowment Plan that I have found, which is China Taiping i-Save Plan.

China Taiping i-Save Plan is a single premium, non-participating life insurance savings plan offered by China Taiping Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd that gives you a lump sum payout with guaranteed return of 2.18% per annum over 3 years.

The minimum investment amount is S$20,000 which gives you a return of S$1,336.72 at the end of policy maturity.

In my opinion, this is a low risk investment as compared to stocks and bonds. If your heart cannot take it or you cannot sleep because the stock market has crashed due to COVID-19, China Taiping i-Save Plan is something that you can look at for a short term investment.

China Taiping i-Save versus Tiq 3-Year Endowment versus NTUC Capital Plus (March 2020)

At the point of writing, the NTUC Capital Plus (March 2020) Tranche is no longer available. China Taiping i-Save Plan is also for a limited period only. Nevertheless, I have summarized the differences between the endowment plans below.

	China Taiping i-Save	Tiq 3-Year Endowment	NTUC Capital Plus
Maturity period	3 years	3 years	3 years
Minimum investment	S$20,000	S$10,000	S$5,000
Interest rate per annum	2.18%	2.10%	2.13%
Payment mode	Cash only	Cash only	Cash and SRS

If you are unable to fork out S$20,000 in cash, I will recommend Tiq 3-Year Endowment Plan at an interest rate of 2.10% per annum. However, if you have an investment amount of S$20,000 or more, then I will opt for China Taiping i-Save with a higher interest rate of 2.18% per annum.

Both are low risks investments with 100% guaranteed return at policy maturity.

Tiq 3-Year Endowment Plan Guaranteed Return of 2.10% per annum

April 15, 2020April 29, 2020 My Sweet Retirement Leave a comment

For those who have not heard of Etiqa, the company is owned by Maybank Ageas Holdings Berhad, a joint venture company that combines local market knowledge with international insurance expertise. The company is 69% owned by Maybank and 31% by Ageas, an international insurance group.

Tiq 3-Year Endowment Plan is a single premium, non-participating life insurance savings plan offered by Etiqa that gives you a lump sum payout with guaranteed return of 2.10% per annum over 3 years.

The minimum investment amount is S$10,000 which gives you a return of S$643 at the end of policy maturity.

In my opinion, this is a low risk investment as compared to stocks and bonds. If your heart cannot take it or you cannot sleep because the stock market has crashed due to COVID-19, Tiq 3-Year Endowment Plan is something that you can look at for a short term investment.

Tiq 3-Year Endowment Plan Versus Singapore Savings Bonds

I love to compare such Endowment Plan against the current Singapore Savings Bonds rate especially during the current COVID-19 situation whereby the interest rates have been impacted quite badly.

The current issue of Singapore Savings Bonds (SBMAY20 GX20050A) offers an average interest rate of 1.39% over 10 years. If you hold the Singapore Savings Bonds for 3 years, the interest rate is Year 1: 0.96%, Year 2: 0.96% and Year 3: 1.01%.

If you purchase S$10,000 worth of Singapore Savings Bond (SBMAY20 GX20050A) and redeem it in the 3rd year, the total interest you will receive is S$292.22.

Tiq 3-Year Endowment Plan is the clear winner as S$10,000 at an interest rate of 2.10% p.a. gives you a return of S$643 upon policy maturity.

Tiq 3-Year Endowment Plan Versus NTUC Capital Plus

Both are single premium 3 year endowment plans.

Last month, I have purchased the NTUC Capital Plus using funds from my Supplementary Retirement Scheme. At this point of writing, the NTUC Capital Plus current Tranche for March is no longer available, thus Tiq 3-Year Endowment Plan is your current best bet.

Nevertheless, I have summarized the differences between both endowment plans below.

	Tiq 3-Year Endowment	NTUC Capital Plus
Maturity period	3 years	3 years
Minimum investment amount	S$10,000	S$5,000
Interest rate per annum	2.10%	2.13%
Payment mode	Cash only	Cash and SRS

NTUC Capital Plus Versus Singapore Savings Bonds

March 28, 2020April 29, 2020 My Sweet Retirement Leave a comment

NTUC Capital Plus is a single premium savings plan that gives you a lump sum payout with guaranteed return of 2.13% per annum over 3 years. Instead of the minimum sum of S$20,000 that was offered in the previous tranche, the minimum amount for the current NTUC Capital Plus is only S$5,000 which you can pay using cash or using your Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) fund.

I personally think it is a good choice to use your Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) funds to purchase Capital Plus for a higher guaranteed yield since SRS can only be withdrawn after your retirement age.

Using the calculator that is offered at NTUC income’s website, I opt for the minimal investment amount of S$5,000.

NTUC Capital Plus Versus Singapore Savings Bonds

How does this fare against the Singapore Savings Bonds? The current issue of Singapore Savings Bonds (SBAPR20 GX20040X) offers an average interest rate of 1.63% over 10 years.

Even NTUC Capital Plus is a clear winner here with an interest payout of S$326.35 at the 3rd year, let us check how much interest will you receive if you redeem the Singapore Savings Bonds early at the 3rd year.

Based on the table below, it seems that the interest rate for April 2020 issue of Singapore Savings Bond is consistent at 1.46% for the first 3 years. You receive S$73 per year.

The total interest you will receive is S$73 per year x 3 years = S$219 if you held Singapore Savings Bonds (SBAPR20 GX20040X) and redeem it at the 3rd year.