STARTING family legacy planning early and tweaking one’s plans consistently over time can ensure a smooth transition of wealth and mitigate risks, said a panel discussing how to grow wealth through generations.
The group of five speakers were at a session organised by CIMB Bank as part of its inaugural insurance expo held on Saturday (Mar 2) at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
The aim of the day-long event, called InsureXpo, was to help prepare individuals for financial independence and grow their wealth at every stage of life.
Ho Weijin, an associate from Sim Mong Teck & Partners, told the audience that family legacy planning can be identified by three pillars: a lasting power of attorney, an advanced medical directive, and a will or trust.
Chan Mun Hoe, head of alternative distribution, bancassurance at Manulife Singapore, noted that the best way to manage risk was to have a diversified portfolio with different asset classes.
He added that one should focus on the returns that an entire portfolio gives, instead of solely focusing on the returns of individual asset classes.
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With the markets being volatile, Chan said that the goal should be to have a “flexible portfolio” where one can “always adjust according to the environment and changing risk profiles”.
Echoing this, Ho pointed out that family legacy planning is a process that will evolve and change according to circumstances, especially with “a new milestone that comes every five to 10 years”.
While the panellists agreed on the importance of consistently reviewing one’s legacy plans, Regina Tan, chief executive officer of Immortalize, an elderhood marketplace and information provider, recognised that some people often struggle with not knowing how far ahead to plan for.
“When people see their wills or advanced care plans, they don’t know if they should be planning for the next five, 10 or 30 years,” she said.
As such, she advised looking at wills and advanced care plans as a template or starting point. With time, she said one should be asking themselves how to “deviate from this starting point”.
Emphasising the need for early planning, Tan noted that disability or mental capacity insurance is often neglected in the planning process.
She said that there is a “significant risk” when one loses his mental capacity but still lives on for decades and relies on savings or family for support.
The two other panellists were Renita Chua, head of bancassurance partnerships and sales, group distribution at Singlife and Natalie Lau, head of advocacy and communications at the Breast Cancer Foundation.
Both Chua and Lau said that with a growing ageing population in Singapore, palliative care, nursing care and assisted living are becoming increasingly important.
Chua said the focus on such alternatives for a “holistic care package” is something that they are going to “take the lead from regulators” on for family legacy planning.
Chan wrapped up the session by stating that family legacy planning was not simply “just passing on whatever is left behind”, but about trying to balance providing for beneficiaries who are living while not “draining away one’s legacy”.
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