As you may be aware, the Ministry of Health (MOH) recently released a list of cancer drugs that will be covered by MediShield Life and other integrated shield plans. The list includes both generic and branded drugs, and covers a range of cancer types, from breast cancer to lung cancer.

The inclusion of these drugs on the list is a significant step towards ensuring that cancer patients receive the treatment they need without facing undue financial burden. However, it is important to note that not all cancer drugs will be covered by your integrated shield plan. If you are currently undergoing cancer treatment or are simply concern with adequate coverage for cancer treatment, it is important to review your plan and understand the coverage available to you.

We understand that cancer can be a challenging and difficult disease to navigate, and we want to ensure that you have the information and resources you need to make informed decisions about your healthcare.

How am I affected by this?

From 1 April 2023, upon renewal of your Policy, your Policy’s (As Charged) outpatient Chemotherapy benefit and Immunotherapy benefit (if applicable) will be replaced with

– a new outpatient Cancer Drug Treatment benefit and

– Cancer Drug Services benefit.

• Cancer Drug Treatment benefit (CDT) – Only outpatient cancer drug treatments on the CDL will be claimable under your Policy, up to the treatment-specific benefit limits. Selected outpatient cancer drug treatments beyond the CDL will be claimable under riders. If you require cancer treatment following the changes, please consult your doctor early on whether your treatment is on the CDL.

• Cancer Drug Services benefit (CDS) – Services that are part of any outpatient cancer drug treatment (including treatments not on the CDL), such as consultations, scans, lab
investigations, treatment preparation and administration, supportive care drugs and
blood transfusions, will be claimable under the Cancer Drug Services benefit, up to
specified benefit limits.

Changes to the IP plan by the various insurers are as follows

Main plan

Singlife ( known as Aviva previously)

• up to 5x Medishield Life claim limits for CDT (CDL) and CDS

AIA

– up to 5x Medishield Life claim limits for CDT (CDL) and CDS

Income

– ranges from 3 to 5x Medishield Life claim limits for CDT (CDL) and CDS depending on the plan

HSBC (known as AXA previously)

– ranges from 2 to 5x Medishield Life claim limits for CDT (CDL) and CDS depending on the plan

Next, IP riders

Singlife

• Existing rider does not boost limits for CDT (CDL) nor CDS. However, it includes a benefit for CDT (Non-CDL)

• Introduced a New Cancer Cover Plus rider
• boost the limits for CDT (CDL) and CDS and includes a benefit for CDT (non-CDL)
• benefit limits are on As Charged basis up to S$1.5mil/yr, subject to plan deductibles and co-insurance
• you can apply for the rider, subject to health underwriting and additional premium
• Note : this rider can be purchased to complement IP policies issued by third party insurers

Brochure

AIA

• Existing rider seeks to cover part of the deductible and co-insurance for CDT (CDL) and CDS

New Cancer Care Booster rider

• Boosts the limits for CDT (CDL) and CDS and includes a benefit for CDT (non-CDL)
• this rider will be automatically added to your policy upon renewal without need for health underwriting but will be subject to additional premium. You can choose to opt out.

Income

– Existing rider boosts the limits for CDT (CDL and Non-CDL). Nothing for CDS

– No new rider

HSBC

• Existing rider boost the limits for CDT (CDL) and includes a benefit for CDT (non-CDL)
• No new rider

In summary

1. IP main plan does not cover CDT (non CDL)
2. Cancer treatment is no longer on As charged basis and shall be catagorised into CDT (CDL) and CDS and shall be subjected to certain benefit limits.
3. Main concern for policyholders will be the uncertainty on whether the CDT and CDS limits are adequate and whether it’ll be adjusted for inflation down the road.
4. To address these concerns, Insurers have either enhanced existing riders or introduced new riders. Personally, I’ll encourage to apply for the rider especially if you’re on a private hospitalisation plan. However, new riders may be subject to health underwriting and additional premiums
5. Perhaps an additional solution may be through a life plan with critical illness cover
6. Switching of IP insurer is highly discouraged especially if you have any pre-existing medical conditions
7. IP plans have gone through significant changes over the years (e.g removal of full cover riders and introduction of panel specialists and pre-authorisation) and I foresee that it will get increasingly more complex

If you have any questions about your coverage or would like to discuss your options, please get in touch with your trusted adviser.

The PM speech yesterday is a sobering reminder that the Covid-19 threat, now being a global pandemic, is far from over and we can expect to see a spike in infections and perhaps deaths. While our government can put in all the necessary measures to contain and eradicate the virus, it also boils down to the social responsibility of the individual to exercise personal hygiene and self-isolation if feeling unwell. 

But having said that, life goes on, just with some added precautions.

On the Financial front, what actions should you take in light of the prevailing situation? Well, here are my suggestions:-

1. REFINANCE YOUR HOUSING LOAN
– to address a global slowdown, countries will probably inject liquidity into the system and that’ll drive interest rates lower
– Hence, there’s no better time to seek lower housing loan rates
– we deal with mortgage brokers in this area and they’ll help you secure the most appropriate loan packages for you, hassle-free 

– Do get in touch if you’re keen to explore 

2. INSURANCE PROTECTION
– this is pretty obvious. If you have been procrastinating to insure you and your family, there’s no better time than now to take action. If a pandemic happens in S’pore, insurers may hike premiums and/or tighten their underwriting, so lock-in your relatively low premiums now and secure your coverage in the interest of your family

 – Do get in touch if you’re keen to explore 

3. REDUCE DISCRETIONARY EXPENSES AND BUILD CASH RESERVES
– this is especially true for self-employed or entrepreneurs whose earnings can be affected by the economic slowdown 

4. CONTINUE TO SAVE & INVEST FOR RETIREMENT

– Deploy surplus cash reserves and monthly surplus cashflow to generate higher yield in order to achieve your accumulation goals, whether it’s for wedding, child’s tertiary education or retirement. 

– I’ve been a strong advocate for endowment savings type plans as most clients will benefit better with a hassle-free approach to generate a respectable return of about 4%p.a with capital guaranteed, for their wealth accumulation.

– On investments, you can benefit from our company structured portfolios with regular review and rebalancing provided. To better ride through market volatility, it takes a long term horizon, nerves of steel and a dollar-cost averaging strategy to achieve your accumulation goals.  

– Do get in touch to find out more and to review your investment portfolio  

5. BOTTOM FISH THE MARKET

In the above screenshot, you will observe that major markets have dropped 25-35% within just 1 month. Taking reference from the U.S market, it has wiped out the entire 2019 gain in just 1 month!

 So are there still opportunities to buy? Certainly!

Invest now? To be advised…

Do email me to register your interest so that when the opportunity presents itself, you’ll be among the first to get notified

A. Company managed portfolios 

Minimum investment – S$10k (recommend at least $50k)

Recommended monthly investment – at least S$1k/mth 

B. Tactical Portfolio strategy (only for experienced and responsive investors)
Minimum investment – S$200k Cash only

This is not a time to be passive but rather to take proactive action to secure your long term interest. Look forward to hear from you. 

Meantime stay safe and positive always….

If you know any colleagues, friends, parents or relatives who would like to benefit from the above, your kind introduction will be appreciated and feel free to forward this article.

Get in touch at gilbert@avallis.com

Disability and YOU

You qualify to receive the disability benefit in the event you are unable to perform at least 3 Activities of Daily Living (ADL).

Why Sign up?

It provides interim financial assistance should you be severely disabled before you enter the national CareShield Life scheme in mid-2020.

TO QUALIFY

If you know any colleagues, friends or relatives who qualify, do forward this to them to share the good news!

What comes to your mind when you think about your retirement?  

Option A
Staying at home looking after your grandchildren, taking public transport to meet friends over coffee or majong. Taking an occasional vacation to a nearby destination in Asia. Healthcare options are limited to government restructured hospitals. Financially independent. 

Option B
Zipping around town in your car meeting friends for a round of golf followed with a high tea buffet in a hotel and some shopping in town. Have the option to change your car every 5-7yrs.  Ability to afford at least 2 vacations globally a year with your grandchildren. Healthcare options are available up to private specialists and hospitals. Financially independent with a decent-sized estate that can be passed down to your children and grandchildren. 

Whether it’s option A or B will depend very much on your desired retirement lifestyle and the size of your retirement nest egg prevailing at that point. The more funds you have, the more retirement options will be available to you.  

For most working professionals, I believe they will desire a lifestyle similar to option B but interestingly, their retirement plans may not match that objective. Why?

Some of the possible reasons are as follows:- 

1. Prioritizes immediate gratification over deferred enjoyment
2. Low savings ability due to inability to curb lifestyle spending &/or over-commitment to car and housing. With our high property prices, it is not uncommon to see couples saddled with at least S$1mil in housing loan nowadays
3. Having a single income to support the family after a spouse leaves employment to look after the children
4. Being overweight in investments with a performance that did not pan out as expected. Wost still, ended with a capital loss.
5. Procrastination leading to delay and underfunding in the accumulation plan
6. Overestimated that CPF alone will be sufficient for retirement
7. Underestimation of how much is required at retirement age to live that desired retirement lifestyle

In this article, I’d like to discuss point #7. 

To facilitate the discussion, let’s think of retirement to like taking a long term overseas vacation…something that most of you will be able to identify with. After all, taking overseas vacations is one of the most favorite pastimes for overworked Singaporeans, wouldn’t you agree?  

A. The Destination

With every vacation, it starts with the destination.

Given our longevity, retirement may span at least 25yrs. Hence, for discussion purpose, let’s assume that we’re taking a Flight to Brazil which is a 30 hour flight time 

Perception pitfall: one may think that the retirement period is far shorter 
ST article

B. Plane type, Engine, and thrust, fuel capacity

Given the destination, which plane do you think can best bring you there most effectively in one piece with minimal refueling stops? A turboprop, piston, midsize jet or a wide-body airliner?
– A wide-body airliner of course!

In financial planning terms, the size of the plane is akin to the size of the retirement nest egg required to provide you with the desired retirement lifestyle. If your financial adviser has done a calculation for you, you will realize that it’s no small change. After all, Singapore is reputed to be one of the most expensive cities to live in. 

With a large airplane, it needs to be equipped with large engines and fuselage to power the aircraft. Moreover, the cost of the plane is not constant. Instead, it goes up over time due to inflation.

Hence in financial terms, the earlier we start accumulating and the higher the regular contribution, the more power you will inject into the accumulation process…and the more likely we can achieve our retirement goal.

Moreover
Perception pitfall: one may think that they can rely on CPF alone or that retirement doesn’t require too much money.
 ST article

C. The Runway 

Every plane needs a runway to allow it to pick up speed for take-off. Similarly for retirement, the runway is the time period from now till our expected retirement age. This is the critical period for us to contribute towards our retirement nest egg, and take advantage of the compounding effect of money.

Typically the larger the plane, the longer the runway needed. Since we have deduced from above that we’ll require a Airbus A380 equivalent, we do need a long runway for it to do a proper take-off, agree? That means that we really need to start early – as soon as we’re in our age 30s, to start the accumulation process. Appreciating this point is the most important part of the accumulation process.

If we take advantage of the long runway by starting early, small regular contributions can allow us to achieve our retirement goal with little financial stress. We can see that through the effect of compound interest in the picture below. It certainly looks like a plane take off trajectory, isn’t it?

However, if we procrastinate and start later in life e.g age 45, the runway will be shorter and we will be required to contribute significantly more on a monthly basis to reach the same end goal. That would be pretty stressful, wouldn’t it? Another example can be seen in the following 

If you’re only starting to accumulate in your 50s, your runway will be rather short and you will need all the financial firepower you can give to your accumulation plan. If you fail to do that, I’m afraid you may have to consider deferring your retirement age and/or downgrade your retirement expectation.

In summary, our ability to achieve our retirement goals are dependant on how well we manage the following 4 parameters:-

1. desired Retirement Lifestyle, expected Longevity and Inflation
– which will determine how much is needed at retirement age
2. Accumulation Period
3. Size of the Regular Contribution to the plan
4. Rate of Return on the plan (which I’ll address in a later article)

Ready to take off to retirement bliss? Get in touch with me at gilbert@avallis.com

IMPORTANT : This is particularly relevant to those who have a private hospitalisation plan AND 

– have an option C rider under Aviva Myshield (regardless of when it was purchased) OR
– purchased full cover IP (Integrated Shield Plan) riders with any insurer on or after 8 Mar’18.

As you are probably aware, all the IP insurers have made changes to their plans in line with the MOH announcement back in Mar’18, requiring co-payment features for IP riders by 1 April 2019. 

With the exception of Aviva, for those who bought IP riders before 8 Mar’18, you will continue to enjoy your rider with benefits unchanged. For Aviva policyholders, pls see “New Aviva Option C rider” below.

For those who bought full cover IP riders between March 8 last year to March 31 this year, your plan will transition to the new co-pay riders upon the renewal of your policies from April 1, 2021.

NEW Co-pay riders (how it works in general)

So how does the new co-pay riders look? Depending on which insurer and plan (we will assume private hospitalisation for discussion purpose) you are with, it may have the following features :-

1. 5% co-payment by you subject to a cap of S$3k/yr if you are using the insurer’s panel of specialists. No cap if using non-panel

2. AXA, Aviva and NTUC require an additional rider deductible to be payable by you if using non-panel specialist

3. AIA rider will not cover main plan deductible and co-insurance at all if using non-panel specialist

This is applicable if you bought the option C (combination of option A + option B) rider before 8 Mar’18. This rider will be effective upon your policy renewal in 2019.
– there is now a rider deductible payable by you as highlighted in the table below (Existing MyHealthPlus column)
– amount of rider deductible is dependent on whether panel specialist is used &/or pre-authorisation is given. Please refer to the table below- “Existing Myhealthplus” column.

New Aviva Option C rider (pls refer to Existing MyHealthPlus column in the table below)

New Aviva Option C II rider
This is applicable if you bought the option C (combination of option A + option B) rider on or after 8 Mar’18

Essentially, the Option C II rider covers 
– the main plan deductible after you pay a rider deductible (pls refer to above table, “New MyHealthPlus” column)
– 50% of the main plan co-insurance (your exposure is cap at S$3k if using panel specialist with pre-authorisation, otherwise no cap)

Insurer panel of specialists and pre-authorisation

In practice, on the issue of using the insurer’s panel of specialists and pre-authorisation, there may be a tendency for policyholders to overlook this as the specialist they see will often be referred by their GP or referred by their friends. Hence, there’s a possibility that your preferred specialist may not fall under the insurer’s panel.

This concern is real as I’m usually informed by my clients on their impending hospitalisation or surgery just days before the surgery or hospitalisation.

Moving forward, pls use the insurer’s panel of specialist (click on the link)

AXA panel of specialists
AXA shield

AIA panel of specialists
AIA Healthshield Gold Max

To meet up for a discussion, just hit reply and we’ll get in touch soon.

Have you outgrown your clothes and dread the feeling of buying bigger sizes?

Have you been eating more and exercising less?

Planning to go on a diet or exercise program?

Yes, I’m sure some of us have experienced the above…while a few have done something about it, others are still procrastinating…that’s understandable as it takes tremendous motivation, discipline and effort to stick to a fitness regime to get back into shape.

For those who have gone ahead to improve their physical health, well done and do keep it up lest muscle atrophy set in again.

For the others, buying a gym membership and not using it or having the mindset of “perhaps tomorrow” will be cold comfort and will unfortunately not propel you to where you want to be, wouldn’t you agree?

So what has the above got to do with financial planning?

Just like exercising to get fit, your financial plans need to be regularly updated to fit your current lifestyle and financial needs. Also, being disciplined in carrying out the plan mapped out by your financial adviser will certainly help in meeting your financial goals.

for example, as you grow from an individual with single needs to marriage and to starting a family, your financial needs will change in tandem and it’s best to update your plans to protect your interest and those of your loved ones.

Not having your financial plans updated will be akin to wearing clothes when you were in your teens. Most will probably not fit you anymore nor the style….not cool.

But some of you may say “Gilbert, it takes so much effort and financial resources to  get things done which is why I prefer to procrastinate“.

Well, I can appreciate that but procrastinate for how much longer?

How will that improve your situation by doing nothing in the meantime?

What happens if you realize that you need to file a claim and have cold sweat not knowing whether you have a plan that insures the event or that can cover it adequately?

Soon approaching your retirement age and finding out that you don’t have enough time to grow your retirement nest egg?

Realizing your investment portfolio has taken a hit during a market downturn as you didn’t respond to your adviser’s recommendation to rebalance your portfolio.

All of us have the same 24 hours of time and limited financial resources, thus how we prioritise these resources to better our future will separate the have and have-nots. Which segment would you like to belong to?

To get started on your financial fitness program, hire a financial coach today (yours truly at your service)!

“Most people do not plan to fail but simply fail to plan” It’s a personal choice. Take charge of your financial life TODAY!!