Retirement planning top of Malaysian’s concerns

KUALA LUMPUR: The top three reasons for savings in Asia are to protect family income, retirement planning and education, according to an ING Insurance Dashboard research report.
The findings of the report, released on Wednesday, Sept 21, said in Malaysia, the average Malaysian middle-income earner was most concerned about retirement planning.

As for Hong Kong and Thailand, the main reasons for saving were to buy a home and start a business.
Elaborating on the findings, ING Insurance Asia Pacific chief executive officer Frank Koster said insurance policies with savings plans attached were proving to be the product that met this demand.
“These policies are proving to be an accessible and affordable wealth management and protection product for Asia's growing number of middle income earners," he said.
Koster said this indicated that more Asian families considered they had achieved something that was worth protecting while also more Asian families had sufficient income to afford this type of wealth management product.
The survey was conducted in June and it involved online interviews with more than 2,300 mid-income investors aged 25 and above.
Published for over three years, the ING Dashboard survey measures and tracks the sentiment and behaviour of mass affluent investors across 11 markets in Asia Pacific namely China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Japan.
ING Insurance Bhd president and chief executive officer Datuk Dr Nirmala Menon said as for the Malaysians, the survey showed 83% of Malaysian consumers indicated their belief in the greater need now to protect their lifestyles compared to 12 months ago.
"One must realise the importance of planning and saving for one's own protection and that of their family.
“Early planning offers peace of mind as there is the assurance that the customer's lifestyle will continue to be safeguarded especially during uncertain times," she said.
As for family takaful, 84% of Malaysian middle income earners interviewed did not own an Islamic life insurance product although most or 62% of them agreed that family Takaful was not only meant for Muslim buyers.
Insurance penetration among Malays, which comprises the majority of the country's population, was below 10%, with top products purchased comprising of hospital and surgical, term life, critical illness and personal accident plans.
Written by Alexander Teo of theedgemalaysia.com