"Nov 25, 2009 Puzzled by insurer's payout for medical claim RECENTLY, my wife was hospitalised at Mount Alvernia Hospital for four days. Her medical bill came up to $7,995.15. She is insured under Income's IncomeShield Plan MA, but the total payout by Income was a shocking $240. I called Income to find out how it arrived at that sum and was told that technically the $7,995.15 was classified as "room and board", hence limiting the claim. The $7,995.15 included a renal screen, bed charges, clinical consumables and supply, diagnostic imaging services, equipment use, laboratory services, outside hospital services, pharmacy cost, resident medical officer fees, treatment fee and doctor attendance fee. Given a deductible of $4,000 per policy year and 10 per cent co-insurance, any man in the street would expect an insurance payout of $3,595.63. But this is not the case. My wife has faithfully paid her premium for the past 15 years without a single claim and this is what she gets in return. I... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Thursday, November 26, 2009 Expert Defense of CPF : FLAWED Part 2. “Staying Together, Moving Ahead.” - PAP Election Slogan 2006 . Before I get to dissecting what the expert has to say, I'll start with a story. A few months ago, I met a relative who was in his mid-forties. He was lamenting that the 'good ol days' were gone. He was working as a senior technician in his company and just bidded fareware to one of his senior colleagues who retired after almost 40 years with the company. The colleague who was also a technician will retire with full pension and medical benefits - if he got sick, he will get to stay in the same type of hospital ward as the top guy in the company. That is because when he was hired 40 years ago, the company believed that where-ever the person was in the company hierachy once they got sick, they should all be treated as equals and deserved the same medical treatment. They believed that people should have sufficient to for a proper retirement so they had a... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Wednesday, November 25, 2009 Expert Defense of CPF : FLAWED In Oct 2009, Mercer's Global Pension Fund Index gave the CPF a 'C' grade. The full report is found here [Link]. The CPF did especially poor in adequacy and integrity (3rd from the bottom among 11 countries). In response to the Mercer report, an 'expert' who was involved in designing CPF Life defends the CPF in today's Straits Times. Most netizens would like to hear from a expert like Leong Sze Hian, but we get this expert from the National Longevity Insurance Committee tell us how good our CPF is. Is the CPF so complex that ordinary Singaporeans cannot understand the scheme and need a government expert to tell us how good it is? If the expert says it is good, then it has to be...Mercer's report is flawed, CPF is the best! I suggest you read what this expert says about the CPF in the Straits Times and see if you agree with her. "...confirm will have report say the (Mercer) report is misleading not accurately blah blah blah" -... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Mon, Nov 09, 2009 my paper S'poreans clueless on retirement By Kenny Chee SINGAPOREANS generally have not planned well for their retirement, according to a survey by global bank HSBC. The majority of Singaporeans polled in the survey - aged between 30 and 70 - said that they saved only $100 to $200 a month for their retirement. This works out to a total of less than $100,000 for retirement, which experts say might not be sufficient. Mr Walter de Oude, chief actuary and head of products and marketing from HSBC Insurance, told my paper: "If you retire at the age of 65, for example, and live up to the age 95, there's no way you can sustain even a downgraded lifestyle for 30 years with $100,000." To rectify this, he said that Singaporeans could set aside regular savings for a financial plan that could grow into a nest egg by the time they reach retirement. However, they need to be careful that their savings are not eroded by inflation over time. To do that, they could use the help of a... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Are Singaporeans clueless about retirement, and if so, why? Thursday, 12 November 2009, 5:51 pm | 12 views Ng E-Jay A recent poll carried out by HSBC Bank revealed that the majority of respondents, aged between 30 and 70, saved only $100 to $200 per month for their retirement [1]. It does not take a financial expert to know that this amount would provide woefully inadequate retirement funding, especially in high cost Singapore. The same HSBC poll also found that around 30% of Singaporeans were unsure about their retirement plans, including issues like the need for insurance. Are Singaporeans really that clueless about their own retirement needs, and if so, why? Presumably, the $100 to $200 per month saved by the majority of those surveyed by HSBC Bank excludes CPF contributions. The CPF is a nation-wide form of forced savings, making Singapore a nation with one of the highest savings rates in the world. But even with CPF contributions factored in, are Singaporeans in proper shape to... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"AMK jumper Ng Chee Kiang has over $100K in CPF November 11, 2009 by admin Filed under Top News Leave a comment From our Correspondent The deceased Ng Chee Kiang who shocked the entire island by jumping to his death from 12 stories high after killing his two children was reported by Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao to have over $100,000 in his CPF account! According to a family friend, Mr Ng had saved more than $100,000 in his CPF after working for more than 10 years. His wife is the likely beneficiary of his CPF. Mr Ng was declared a bankrupt in 2003. A report from the Insolvency and Public Trustee’s Office shows that Mr Ng Chee Kiang’s financial problems arose through a combination of overspending, gambling and speculating in the stock market. Under Singapore law, CPF can only be used by Singaporeans to pay for housing. It is supposed to serve as a retirement fund for Singaporeans so that they don’t become a burden to the government when they grow old. Had the CPF board exercised more... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Pension Funds, Facing $1 Trillion Gap, Next In Line For Government Pittance Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/05/2009 16:41 -0500 America Ben Bernanke bernanke Bloomberg Bonuses Debt Deficits Depression Dick Bove Dollar economy Europe Fail FDIC FED Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Future Great Depression HOT Lloyd Blankfein money Obama Pension Crisis Recession Underfunded Obligation US Wall Street It was just a matter of time: with the government set to take over every aspect of the economy, its next holding will be the perpetually underfunded and soon to be bankrupt State and local pension system. Bloomberg notes that state and local government pensions are underfunded by $1 trillion and may need to seek federal guarantees for their debt. Another insolvent institution, the FDIC, will undoubtedly be happy to guarantee one broke entity's obligations with another broke entity's worthless guarantee. The only question is why it took them so long. And what is a trillion? Nothing more... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"CPF: What happened since GE2006? Wednesday, 4 November 2009, 8:04 pm | 279 views On 18 September 2007, Parliament debated on CPF Reform, whereby CPF annuity schemes were first proposed. The Secretary-General of Worker’s Party Low Thia Khiang made an impassioned plea for the Government to delink retirement age and CPF withdrawal age, and to establish a “longevity fund”, in place of annuity schemes, to enable Singaporeans aged above 85 years old to enjoy a secure retirement. English Translation of Low Thia Khiang’s Speech Mr Speaker Sir, The Workers’ Party opposes the Government’s proposal to defer the CPF Minimum Sum draw-down age from 62 years old to 65 years old, and eventually to 67 years old. Originally, Singaporeans could withdraw all the savings in their CPF accounts at the age of 55. Subsequently, the Retirement Account was created to cater for the needs of the post-retirement lives and the Minimum Sum was retained at the age of 55. The ever rising Minimum Sum has resulted in... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Meet the Protagonist of the YPAP Facebook Forum War Tuesday, 3 November 2009, 4:26 am | 351 views Donaldson Tan The Online Citizen speaks to 22-year-old Alex Zhixiang Tan. He has been leading the onslaught on the YPAP Network Facebook Page, advocating for transparency, accountability and compassion for citizens in public policies. 1. Would you like to introduce a little about yourself? I grew up in a low-income HDB-dwelling family in Tampines. My mother raised me up single-handedly. She worked as a coffee-shop cleaner during my schooling days. At the age of 14, I started working while studying to lighten my mother’s burden. She had taken 2 job-shifts as a cleaner to support the family. She worked from 6am to 11pm. She has been an inspiring figure and her workaholic-attitude had rubbed off onto me. There are many poor Singaporeans like me. We work very hard everyday but we see little or no hope of getting out of the poverty trap. Other than growing up poor, i guess im just a typical... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2009 The Message the PAP is sending to us: We can pick and choose our responsibilities/policies. I totally agree with the tone found in the Straits Times article below; which suggests that the upgrading program is a 'privilege' granted at the discretion of the PAP rather than a responsibility of the government. You see.. our government can pick and choose who to apply a national program to or even pick and choose rather arbitrarily who to consult the program with. They have the right to selectively perform their duties. After all, why should they spend the tax payers' money on a bunch of people who didn't vote for them? That is the message they seem to be sending through their beloved newsletter- the Straits times. I totally agree with this philosophy. In fact, it should also apply to the 40% who voted for the opposition. They should also be able to pick and choose who they should pay their taxes to. After all, why should they pay their own hard-earned money to a... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Sunday, November 01, 2009 CPF & Retirement.... The other day someone asked me what I thought of CPF Life. The person is a graduate but can't figure out which is the best option in the scheme and what is needed for retirement. I jokingly told him that the best retirement plan is to have filial children and if they are not filial there is something known as the Maintence of Parents Act which forces children to take care of their parents. The govt has spared no effort to move the burden of retirement to individuals and their families. However, do all these result in an improved quality of life for retirees? The govt makes all these moves to shift the burden of retirement to the citizens but it refuses to do 2 important things that will significantly improve the financial situation of retirees. The 1st is providing affordable public housing - today Singapore's public housing, the most expensive in the world, causes individuals to be burdened with housing debt that takes 25-30 years to... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"What suggestion about a window for MediShield sign-up meant I REFER to yesterday's reply by the Ministry of Health, 'Government working to raise MediShield coverage', to my letter, 'Bring more under MediShield' (Sept 14) and congratulate the Ministry of Health on its success in getting 84 per cent of the population covered under MediShield. Getting the remaining 16 per cent covered will be a challenge, especially if some of the uninsured find it difficult to meet the underwriting requirements or are rejected due to pre-existing conditions. MediShield is a national scheme. It should operate on different principles from commercial insurance, where the insurers cherry pick to select healthy lives. It should be made available to all, preferably without underwriting. In my earlier letter, I suggested that a window period be given to all existing uninsured to join MediShield without underwriting. Those who join during this window period will have their existing illnesses excluded or... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Tuesday, September 22, 2009 Medishield - MOH misinterpreted my suggestion This letter was printed in the Strait Times a week ago. In its reply, the Ministry of Health mis-interpreted my suggestion. I have written a further letter to clarify to the Straits Times to clarify this matter. I wrote to the Ministry to tell them that they can contact me on my suggestion. They did not. This has caused them to mis-interprete my suggestion. It is quite sad that our civil servants and leaders continue to decide on important matters without seeking clarification or engaging the public. Posted by Tan Kin Lian at 7:55 AM Labels: Insurance" - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"MediShield should not have age bar I REFER to the reply by the Ministry of Health, 'Multiple tiers of protection for all' (Sept 2). My MediShield-protected parents are both 83 years old. In two years, they will be out of MediShield coverage and will not be able to avail themselves of its hospital and surgery plans. They have been paying MediShield premiums for years and have not made a single claim. I believe they will live beyond 85. I am happy that the ministry's reply stated that the age limit for coverage has been been raised progressively. But as the life expectancy of Singaporeans exceeds MediShield's latest age limit increase to 85 three years ago, it would be even more gratifying if the ministry took steps immediately to raise it to 90 and beyond. Many plans by private insurers already cover until death, and it would be great if MediShield could consider doing likewise. I had planned to switch my parents from MediShield to a private insurer because of the 85-year age bar, but... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund’s (EPF) investment income for the second quarter (2Q09) rose 46.6% to RM4.8 billion from RM3.27 billion in the previous quarter, mainly due to improved performance in its equities portfolio. In a statement here yesterday, EPF said earnings from equity investment grew seven times to RM1.74 billion in 2Q09 from RM239.55 million in 1Q09. As at 2Q09, EPF had invested RM93.9 billion in equities, representing 26.53% of its total fund size. EPF said improving global stock markets, as well as Bursa Malaysia, had contributed to the surge in income from equities in 2Q09. Commenting on EPF’s higher investment income, its chief executive officer Tan Sri Azlan Zainol said: “The second quarter of 2009 showed signs of recovery in major global equity indices, especially in the countries that EPF invests in. “While we cannot say that the worst is over, should this trend continue, or at least maintain at the current level, we are positive that we can reverse... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"CPF plans to lower interest rates for medisave and retirement accounts September 4, 2009 by admin Filed under Top News Leave a comment From our Correspondent According to the latest news release from the Central Provident Fund (CPF) board posted on its website, it will be applying a new floor rate of 2.5% interest for all CPF accounts after 31 December 2009 (Source: CPF) The government has been maintaining the 4% floor rate for savings in the Special Medisave and Retirement Accounts (SMRA) for two years from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2009. The interest rate for SMRA is pegged to the 12-month average yield of the 10-year Singapore Government Security plus 1% for this entire period of time. The lower interests rate mean that Singaporeans will have less savings in their medisave accounts to be used for medical expenses and retirement account to depend on during their golden years. In fact their value will depreciate with them as the interest (floor) rate of 2.5% is far below the... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Urgent need to plug gaping holes in our healthcare system September 3, 2009 by admin Filed under: Current Affairs Written by Ng E-Jay 03 Sept 2009 As our population ages, there is an urgent need to plug gaping holes in our healthcare system in order to ensure that all citizens, especially our elderly who need it most, get access to decent and affordable healthcare. An ST letter “Multiple tiers of protection for all” (2 Sept) penned by the Ministry of Health suggested that healthcare in Singapore is universal and no one is left behind. Unfortunately, the same letter also admitted that Medishield coverage stops at age 85, making our medical insurance system far from universal. The same goes for similar insurance schemes provided in the private sector. Our elderly who are above 85 years of age are the ones who require healthcare the most as they are the group most susceptible to chronic ailments and terminal illnesses. If they are uninsurable, then the onus must fall on the Government... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet