Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®)
Individuals with the ChFC designation have demonstrated their vast and thorough knowledge of financial planning. The ChFC program is administered by the American College. In addition to successful completion of an exam on areas of financial planning, including income tax, insurance, investment and estate planning, candidates are required to have a minimum of three years experience in a financial industry position.
Like those with the CFP designation, professionals who hold the ChFC charter help individuals analyze their financial situations and goals.
Standard Chartered Bank continues to lead the way by introducing value added services for its customers in its efforts to assist customers in making the right decisions when it comes to financial matters.
Customers looking to purchase a new home or to simply upgrade to a larger family home, can now gather useful tips and insights on how to go about beginning the purchase process with Standard Chartered’s Home Ownership Guide.
In this guide book, prospective home owners are guided step by step on managing finances in order to make their home purchase a reality, from documentation required for applying for housing loan to handy tips on house renovation.
“We understand how daunting the whole process of buying your own home can be, especially for first time home buyers where documentation and legal procedures may seem confusing. Hence, Standard Chartered is pleased to offer this extra guide to help home buyers or the interested public to not only make better financial decisions but to give a clearer picture on the process and stages of home purchase. Purchasing one’s own home is a special occasion and does not happen on a regular basis, hence Standard Chartered believes that being the right partner means being able to give dependable advice on what works best for each individual customer”, commented Ms Lim Su Hui, General Manager, SME and Mortgages.
This handy guidebook is available to all at any Standard Chartered Bank branch. Those interested in finding out more about the guidebook or about home loans can contact Standard Chartered’s Phone Banking Centre at 265 8000, or visit any Standard Chartered Bank branch where a Personal Financial Consultant will be on hand to assist.
There is a need for higher contribution rates from employers and employees to supplement the current Employees Trust Fund (TAP) in the country, as its current contribution rates are too low by regional standards.
This was one of the points made during the Social Security Roundtable 2008, themed "Towards A More Sustainable Post-Retirement Income, Policy Options For Brunei Darussalam", organised by the Centre for Strategy and Policy Studies (CSPS) on Saturday at the Empire Hotel and Country Club, Jerudong.
Earlier, Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Ismail bin Haji Mohamed in his capacity as CSPS Chairman, in his opening address, said the locals have been blessed with a decent quality of life and standard of living, but the sustainability of these components require the analysis of a number of key variables.
He noted one of which is TAP's contribution rate of five per cent, by both employers and employees, is too low to fund accumulated savings upon retirement.
"Currently, the normal pension age is 55, and it is estimated that there are more than 20,000 people in the age group of 55 and above," said the permanent secretary. "With current demographic data, the aging population in 20 years time will increase considerably, coupled with longer life expectancy."
Therefore, he said, "the increased number of 'warga emas' need to have certain level of income in order to support their way of life".
Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Ismail, in his welcoming remarks, also emphasised on CSPS's commitment to advanced research and analysis on topics that are of strategic importance to the country's interest.
A report, finalised by CSPS, shows clear indication that the current pension schemes, particularly during post-TAP era, are far from adequate if there are no other provisions of savings, he said.
As such, Saturday's dialogue was aimed at discussing alternatives and required improvements to existing social security options in the country, particularly with the view of improving the Post Retirement 'Safety Net' and Financial Security for post-TAP participants.
In conclusion, there is a need for higher TAP contribution rates, and such schemes should not allow for withdrawals, in order to provide an income stream in retirement.
It was also noted that given the sluggish business conditions, the capacity for private sector to participate in increased contributions may be limited.
Among the other issues discussed during the roundtable was the importance of education in instilling a culture of savings and self-reliance.
Meanwhile, the dialogue, moderated by CSPS board member Stephen Ong, brought together over 100 stakeholders, policymakers, members of both public and private sectors, together with panellists from the World Bank, American International Group (AIG), Singapore Ministry of Manpower, and TAP.
The findings and recommendations from two independent research teams, represented by World Bank's Mark Dorfman and AIG Global Investment Group Vice President Michael Hudnall, were shared and discussed during the roundtable.
The event also saw a presentation by Deputy Permanent Secretary at Singapore Ministry of Manpower Aubeck Kam, who shared Singapore's workforce concept and touched on some social security schemes in Singapore.
Following the roundtable, CSPS will make available a report, with observations from the roundtable, to relevant authorities for policy considerations.
