We all know life insurance is important, especially for young families. Having a life insurance plan ensures that your spouse and children are protected from potential financial losses when you die. It provides them with financial security, helping to pay off debts or cover living expenses even after you’re gone.

As I’m planning to start a family myself, I’ve done a lot of research into life insurance and I recommend checking out this beginner’s guide if you’re new to insurance. While there are many life insurance options available, this article will focus on whole life plans and how a plan like Singlife Whole Life Choice can provide you with the support you need at every milestone.

A plan for your evolving needs

Whole life plans typically provide lifelong protection for death and terminal illness, combining basic coverage with additional coverage that boosts your sum assured up to a specific age (typically for the period when you have higher financial liabilities, e.g. when your kids are still in school or you’re paying off a home loan). With some plans, this additional coverage drops to zero at that age. With others, like Singlife Whole Life Choice, there’s a gradual reduction in additional coverage - the additional coverage drops by 12.5% per year from ages 65, 70, 75, 80, or 85, depending on your choice. This flexibility makes it a powerful tool for legacy planning, ensuring peace of mind well into your golden years.

The plan also comes with flexible premium payment options: 10, 15, 20, 25 years, or up to age 65, depending on your budget. Personally, I love the option to pay till age 65. It keeps things affordable for young families like mine, as it’s tied to my working years. Plus, the Guaranteed Extra Protection feature is incredibly practical. It allows me to increase my coverage at key life stages, like welcoming a new baby or making a big purchase (like buying a home), all without the hassle of additional health checks.

Building savings for your kids’ future

The other key feature of a whole life plan is that it builds cash value over time. With premiums contributing to a cash value that grows, it provides a financial nest egg you can tap into later. For young parents, getting a whole life plan for your newborn means locking in lower premiums while ensuring they’re covered right from the start and have a sum of money to access in the future. Singlife Whole Life Choice takes this further with its unique Life Stage Withdrawal Benefit, allowing penalty-free access to funds during significant milestones like enrolling into university which is especially handy when you consider the rising cost of raising a child.

A reliable plan for retirement

Even if you’re not planning to have kids, the cash value your plan accumulates can help in other ways such as retirement planning. Given the closure of the CPF Special Account once you turn 55, you may be looking for avenues to grow your money while having the flexibility to make withdrawals during retirement. You can supplement your CPF Life payouts with payouts from Singlife Whole Life Choice by exercising the Income Payout Option that converts your policy’s cash value into monthly payouts that you’ll receive up to age 99. The money is 100% yours to keep too since insurance payouts are tax-exempt.

Your safety net during retrenchment

What really sets Singlife Whole Life Choice apart is its unique Retrenchment Benefit. In these uncertain times when layoffs are not uncommon and can lead to a period of unemployment, the retrenchment benefit ensures your policy remains active without you needing to pay premiums for up to one year. This thoughtful feature takes some financial pressure off, allowing you to keep your protection intact even when finances are tight.

Yes, a whole life plan is still relevant today

A modern and customisable plan like Singlife Whole Life Choice is a great option for young families looking for the flexibility to balance their immediate needs with their long-term financial goals. Here’s an example of how Singlife Whole Life Choice works:

Curious to explore other protection options? Learn the differences between whole life and term life plans or discover the latest addition to Singlife’s life insurance suite: Singlife Legacy Indexed Universal Life.

Conclusion

Life insurance is a must-have especially if you have a young family. Whole life insurance plans are a type of life insurance designed to cater to your evolving protection and financial needs as you advance through life. If you need help choosing a suitable plan, please consult your financial adviser representative.

^Notes

^{1. Singlife Whole Life Choice covers death and Terminal Illness for whole of life. Upon diagnosis of Terminal Illness of the Life Assured, Singapore Life Ltd. will pay the Terminal Illness Benefit as an advance payment of the Death Benefit, less any amount owing to Singapore Life Ltd., in one lump sum.} 

^{2. Singlife Whole Life Choice’s Base Cover accumulates guaranteed and non-guaranteed cash value from the start of the third policy year, as long as the premiums are paid up to date. The non-guaranteed cash value is accumulated in the form of Reversionary Bonus (declared annually) and Terminal Bonus, and will depend on the performance of Singapore Life Ltd.’s Participating Fund. Please refer to the Product Summary for more details.} 

^{3. Singlife Whole Life comprises a Base Cover and an Additional Cover. It offers a choice of 100%, 200%, 300% or 400% of the Base Sum Assured for the Additional Cover of the basic plan. The chosen Additional Cover percentage is also applicable to the Additional Cover of optional riders, such as the Total and Permanent Disability Advance Cover V, Critical Illness Advance Cover VI and Early Critical Illness Advance Cover VI, if they are attached to the plan. The Total Sum Assured of this plan is the sum of the Base Sum Assured (Base Cover) and the Additional Sum Assured (Additional Cover). The Additional Cover will start from policy inception and gradually reduce by 12.5% every policy anniversary from when the Life Assured attains the chosen Additional Cover Age of either age 65, 70, 75, 80 or 85. Thereafter, the Life Assured will continue to enjoy coverage without Additional Cover. Please refer to the Product Summary for more details.} 

^{4. The premium payment will resume after 12 months, when the waiver period ends.} 

^{5. Potential Reversionary Bonus of S$7,768 is based on the illustrated investment rate of return of 4.25% per annum.}   

^{6. The total payout consists of the Base Sum Assured of S$50,000, Additional Sum Assured of S$31,250 and potential bonuses of S$19,541 (based on the illustrated investment rate of return of 4.25% per annum).} 

^{7. The surrender value includes guaranteed and non-guaranteed cash value at the point of full surrender. The figure illustrated assumes that all premiums have been fully paid.}