Saturday, January 01, 2011

DPIS and young people

Spare young people the premium shock
Make DPS an optional scheme for young people
and spare them the shock of seeing their hard-earned money disappear in no time
 
 Review system
I was surprised to read an insurance company's letter
addressed to my 19-year-old daughter
informing her that a premium of $36 was being deducted
from her CPF account under the Dependants' Protection Scheme (DPS).
 

5 comments:

zhummmeng said...

It should be an opt out scheme for young people until they start working.
The problem the system cannot differentiate whether the first contribution is a contribution from a permanent job.The first contribution triggers the system.

AC said...

I have written to CPF on this issue 2 years ago expressing my unhappiness over the auto deduction. I have suggested that DPS should be offered when they start working fulltime. They ignored my suggestion and replied me that if you don't like it you can reject, but they did indicate a point which should be seriously considered before you turn down this. If your kid has an existing medical problem, once you turn down this, the next time CPF may not want to accept your kid's re-application. I have just rejected DPS for my 16 yr old daughter who worked part time, as I do not like what CPF is doing.

yujuan said...

Sometime last year Aviva Insurance sent out letters to all past and reservist SAF men a letter that jacked up coverage for the SAF Term Insurance scheme would be increased from 50 to 200%, and if our boys objected, they had to sign the opt-out form and return by post.
Many Singaporeans are working abroad, and they don't have access to their home mail, and lo and behold, their bank account would be debited without their knowledge.
CPF Board has set a precedent in having to opt-out by paper work, and the this Insurance Company who is service provider for the SAF Scheme, cockily pick up the CPF way. This is an infringement of Human Rights here in Singapore that has to be addressed by all means, otherwise other commercial entities would copy-cat.
We would be watching Aviva closely in its business conduct now.

Vincent Sear said...

I'm not sure what's the practice now. But I remember at the time when DPS was first introduced, a letter would be sent to all CPF members (aged below 55 i.i.r.c.) for opt-out within a certain period (I can't recall whether it was 2 weeks or 1 month).

It was actually quite a favorable practice toward the members if one looks further behind the initial annoyance of being assumed to have opted in if not opted out.

Opt-out system means no medical underwriting, no cherry picking. All whom are offered are assumed insurable and would be insured.

I also recall that the letter came with a cautionary note, if you opt out now and wish to be reinstated later, you may be subject to medical exam at your own cost.

Anyway, I feel DPS is a good deal for basic life coverage. There's no cheaper coverage available anywhere outside. Premium to sum assured per $1,000 is even cheaper than SAF. That's why increasing SA isn't allowed even if the assured is willing to pay more for more.

Unknown said...

Hi

A Happy New Year to all.

Can anyone let me know how many CPF contributors benefited from this default DPS scheme?

There are 2 issues here:
1) are you angry with the Protection coverage
2) or the way CPF Board handles the scheme.

Please do not void your DPS protection because of anger with the way of CPF board of doing thing.

Cheers
Raymond

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