Endowment Comparison: Singlife MySavingsPlan vs GE Flexi Cashback vs PRUFlexicash

Between Singlife MySavingsPlan, GE Flexi Cashback and PRUFlexicash, which endowment plan will best help you achieve your financial goals and dreams?  

Endowment plans offer a simple, disciplined way to save up for that big dream down the line, be it a wedding banquet, your first home, or even a retirement nest egg. But their status as an insurance policy lets them do much more than that.

We review and compare three endowments – Singlife MySavingsPlans, Great Eastern Flexi Cashback and PRUFlexicash – for a deep dive into how you can use these plans to further your goals. 

• What these endowment plans have in common
• Comparison #1: Interest rates and expected returns
• Comparison #2: Insurance benefits
• Comparison #3: Premium payment terms
• Conclusion

Singlife MySavingsPlan vs Great Eastern Flexi Cashback vs PRUFlexicash

What these endowment plans have in common

#1 Designed for long-term savings

All three are classic endowment plans, in the sense that they are made for those with a long-term savings goal in mind. By requiring regular premium payments – part of which are invested with profit in mind – allowing for potential bonuses to be re-invested, and with the freedom to choose how long you will save, these plans help you meet a savings goal in a disciplined and predictable manner.

Even though GE Flexi Cashback and PRUFlexicash pay out yearly cashback, you have the option to leave your cashback with your insurer to accumulate interest (currently at a non-guaranteed 3% per annum, which isn’t too shabby, all things considered). 

#2 Insurance benefits included

All three endowment plans by Singlife, GE and Prudential come with insurance benefits that cover at least death and terminal illness, with total and permanent disability (TPD) cover available either natively or via add-on riders.

Riders are also available for a wide range of circumstances and risks, ranging from premium waivers upon cancer diagnosis, additional benefits for death and terminal illness, accelerated payout of benefits and more. 

The actual cache of riders available differs from one insurer to the next, so you should approach a licensed agent to find out more. Depending on your needs and the riders offered, your endowment plan may be able to fulfil both savings and protection goals. 

How these endowment plans differ

As no two (three, in this case) plans are exactly alike, there are differences between Singlife MySavingsPlan, GE Flexi Cashback and PRUFlexicash. We’ll focus on the three most critical ones. 

Comparison #1: Interest rates and expected returns

One difference here is that Singlife’s plan has a 100% capital guarantee, while Prudential’s plan does not. GE’s plan sits somewhere in between. 

Firstly, note that endowment plans have to be held to the end of their terms (A.K.A. maturity) in order for you to reap the most returns. 

For Singlife MySavingsPlan, this comes in the form of a 100% capital guarantee at maturity, which ensures that you will receive, at a minimum, the total premiums you have paid throughout the plan. This ensures you do not lose any money. Additionally, you can also expect to receive a lump-sum bonus, which is where the ‘up to 4.75% per annum’ comes into play – at least partially. 

In contrast, PRUFlexicash is not capital guaranteed even when held to maturity. Does this mean there’s the potential to lose money? Well, technically, any investment without a capital guarantee represents the risk of losing money. But the lack of such a guarantee doesn’t automatically make for a bad endowment plan.

While you may see  guaranteed maturity benefit that’s lower than your total premiums paid, you should look at the illustrated total benefit, which includes the yearly cash payouts, for a more accurate forecast.. 

Now, for GE Flexi Cashback, the 100% capital guarantee only applies if you choose the limited-pay option (see Comparison #3 for more details). For full-pay plans, your maturity benefit alone may be lower than your total premiums paid. However, again, there’s your yearly cashback to help beef up your total returns. 

What about the interest rates? One simple way to look at them is as an indicator of potential returns. In this regard, all three plans are similar, with up to 4.75% per annum returns.

As for ‘3% per annum on accumulated cashback’, that simply means that if you choose not to withdraw your yearly cash payouts, you will earn 3% per annum on that amount. This, however, is not guaranteed and subject to change. 

Comparison #2: Insurance benefits

Singlife MySavingsPlan does not include a TPD benefit, instead offering it as an additional rider. Meanwhile, GE Flexi Cashback and PRUFlexicash both offer benefits for death, terminal illness and TPD. 

In any case, all three plans allow for further customisation via add-on riders, and the actual riders offered may play a part in your decision, depending on your actual needs and goals. 

The second thing you’ll notice is that PRUFlexicash’s benefit for death, terminal illness and TPD seems to be slightly lower, being only 100% of the sum assured, plus bonuses. Also, the cover for TPD and terminal illness ceases at age 65. 

GE Flexi Cashback pays out up to 105% the sum assured or the surrender value, whichever is higher, plus bonuses, in the event of death, terminal illness or TPD.

As for Singlife MySavingsPlan, different scenarios will trigger different payouts. Firstly, the death of the insured will trigger the death benefit, which is 105% of premiums paid, or the guaranteed cash surrender value, plus any bonuses. 

Secondly, upon diagnosis of Terminal Illness, the death benefit will be paid out in advance. Lastly, should accidental death occur before age 80, the plan will pay out the sum assured plus the death benefit.

Comparison #3: Premium payment terms

All three plans have a maximum duration of 25 years, but differ in minimum premium payment terms. 

Singlife MySavingsPlan and PRUFlexicash are available as full-pay plans, in which premiums are payable throughout the entire duration.

However, GE Flexi Cashback is available in both full-pay and limited-pay varieties. In a limited-pay plan, you only have to pay premiums up to a certain point, beyond which your policy continues to remain in force until the end of the specified term. 

To make up for the shortened payment period, premiums amounts will be higher. However, provided affordability is not an issue, limited-pay plans can free up your budget to focus on other financial pursuits. 

For GE Flexi Cashback, you can choose a premium payment as short as five years on a limited-pay policy. In addition, you will also enjoy a 100% capital guarantee on maturity on your endowment plan. 

Conclusion: Which one should you choose?

With its capital guarantee at maturity and lack of yearly payout, Singlife MySavingsPlan may be suitable for those who are particularly risk-averse (and don’t mind lower potential returns in exchange), seeking a disciplined savings instrument without the distractions of cashback options. 

Meanwhile, those looking for greater liquidity will likely do better with either PRUFlexicash or GE Flexi Cashback, which offer the freedom to choose yearly cashback or to accumulate them for extra returns instead. 

Between the two, GE’s plan offers higher cashback at 6% of sum assured, compared to Prudential’s 5%.

While all three endowments offer terms up to 25 years (ideal for super-long-term financial goals, such as retirement) those with shorter timelines of 5 to 10 years will have to choose between Singlife MySavingsPlan and GE Flexi Cashback. 

GE Flexi Cashback is the only one to offer a limited-pay option, which may be ideal for those who do not like the thought of paying premiums for more than two decades.

Finally, both GE and Singlife’s endowments are guaranteed issuance, which means you can sign up without needing to undergo a medical checkup unless a rider is being added. However, Prudential’s endowment plan is subject to medical underwriting, and thus might require a trip to the doctor’s office if you have a history of medical conditions. 

Above all else…

If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! But this is also perhaps the most important thing to consider.

No one article can fully tell you what endowment (or any insurance) plan you should buy. Instead, you should always discuss your needs with a qualified financial advisor. Be sure to ask them to explain the important parts, in particular, benefit illustrations, fund structure and asset class.

This way, you’ll understand the endowment in the context of your own goals and needs, which is the best way to know whether the plan will truly serve your needs.

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