These are the heartfelt words of a 60 yr old teacher client of mine after making his first major illness insurance claim.

Last December, Mr Thamilselvan experienced chest pains after a jog. Upon investigation, the doctors discovered that there was a 90% blockage in one of his main coronary artery.

He had to undergo an urgent open-heart coronary artery bypass surgery to save his life.

Thankfully, the operation went smoothly and Mr Thamilselvan is now recovering well.

His operation and 13 day stay at SGH came up to almost $50k. The entire bill was covered fully by his medical insurance and he also claimed a sum of money from his critical illness policies.

After his life changing experience, he thinks of retiring early to lead a less stressful life but is unsure if he can afford to do so…

In this special post, Mr Thamilselvan shares his personal thoughts about financial planning so we can all learn from his experience.

1. What led you to reach out to me for financial planning back in 2015?

I had just turned 55. My wife and I realized that we had not planned for our retirement or thought about having enough insurance coverage for our children’s future.

However, we had no clue on even how to begin or what we should be looking at. Whatever information we had was based on what we had read about or through conversations with friends. It was then that my wife suggested that perhaps we get professional advice.

Not knowing anyone, I surfed the internet and came across Yong Hui’s blog. Her articles and areas of expertise seemed to be what we were looking for. Also, based on what we read, she also seemed like someone who was sincere in her desire to help her clients. That’s how we got to know her and engaged her services for our family’s needs.

We now see her not only as our financial adviser but also as a friend.

2. As a teacher, what are your top challenges when it comes to planning for your finances?

 I always joke that most teachers, are by nature, very good at taking care of other peoples’ children, but not their own or even their own personal well-being. This is especially true when it concerns such mundane things such as planning for their finances or retirement.

They are so busy with their work, that planning for their finances or future take a backseat and are usually not in their list of priorities. As both my wife and I teach, you can imagine where our priorities lay.

The challenge for me as a teacher when it comes to planning for my finances is basically an issue with the mindset – the lack of urgency or not seeing the need to plan as early as possible and not putting it in the list of priorities. I don’t think this is unique to teachers per se but rather a common problem with the general population at heart.

3. How did you feel when you realised that your medical bill was fully covered by medical insurance and you could even claim a lump sum pay out?

 I was mentally quite prepared to pay for my medical bill as I was not sure whether my surgery was covered by my medical insurance. Thus, I was really pleasantly surprised that not only was my entire medical bill covered but I could also claim for my pre and post-surgery expenses!

Imagine my surprise, when Yong Hui also advised me to file a claim for a lump sum pay out on top of my medical coverage. When I was successful in my claim for my lump sum pay out, I felt like I had won the lottery!

The unexpected windfall eased some of my financial concerns and would definitely contribute to our rainy-day fund.

4. What’s your biggest financial concern now?

Factoring inflation and the uncertain future, my biggest financial concern is whether my wife and I have put aside enough for both our retirement.

We both want to be independent and do not want to be an additional burden for our children in our old age.

That, I believe, is the best gift we can give to our children.

5. If you could turn back time, what would you do differently for your insurance and retirement planning?

 I wish I had thought about these matters much earlier and engaged a professional to guide and advise us. I’m sure the premiums would have been much lower and both my wife and I would have had a much bigger retirement egg to fall back on.

Having said that, I also firmly believe it is never too early or too late to put your financial matters in order and plan for your retirement. However, don’t wait till it’s really too late.

My Personal Thoughts

Mr Thamilselvan made an important point – it’s never too early or too late to plan for your finances.

Because of his decision to start planning even at age 55, we managed to set in place his medical coverage while he was still healthy. He upgraded his Medishield to an Integrated Shield plan that provided higher claim limits and covered for pre and post hospitalisation expenses. He also got critical illness coverage to protect his income.

Having proper medical insurance protects your savings

His Integrated Shield plan protected him from having to dip into his hard-earned retirement savings for his treatment. Had he not taken that first step back then, the situation today would be very different. Medishield Life only covered 9k out of his 50k bill and the balance would have to come out of savings or to deplete his Medisave account.  His critical illness payout also provided an extra lifeline to ease his financial concerns.

The earlier you start retirement planning, the easier it becomes

When it comes to retirement planning, the earlier you start, the easier it is. That’s because starting early gives you more years to work the compounding effect and grow your retirement funds. That’s why Mr Thamilselvan strongly encouraged his daughter to start planning for her retirement when she started work.

As of this time of writing, I am still working closely with Mr and Mrs Thamilselvan and guiding them how to optimise their funds to close their retirement gap. (more on it in another post)

The best gift we can give our children is to be financially independent ourselves

As a parent myself, I believe strongly in what Mr Thamilselvan shared – the best gift we can give our children is becoming financially independent ourselves so that we do not burden them in our old age.

Often, I hear my sandwiched generation clients talk about the financial stress and worry of providing for their aged parents. Many wish that their parents had saved and planned more when they were young and they do not want to repeat the same mistake that their parents made.

But it can be challenging for time-starved working parents to get started.. having to constantly juggle between work and caring for children, helping them with their school work and taking care of the household..

This is why I want to reach out to busy working parents to help them plan proactively, so they can have the confidence and freedom to retire when they want to. And their children can be free to live their lives without worries too :)

So if you are a busy working parent who have been thinking of planning for your retirement but struggle as to where/how to start, or have taken some steps but thinking how to optimise and enhance your retirement plans, I am here to help.

Feel free to drop me a note if you would like some guidance and we can have a chat to see how I can help.

To Your Success and Happiness,

Yong Hui