13 May 2015
Kuala Lumpur: CIMB Bank today rolled out the latest addition to its stable of financial solutions, Sun EduSmart. Developed exclusively by its bancassurance partner, Sun Life Malaysia, Sun EduSmart is an education plan which aims at helping parents plan ahead towards providing their children a financial access to quality education.
The first of its kind as compared to similar education plans in Malaysia, Sun EduSmart’s most unique feature is its Education Booster Fund (EBF), an interest-rate linked payment paid on top of the Guaranteed Maturity Benefit. The booster fund is an annual addition that is pro-rated and credited at the end of each policy monthly anniversary according to a specified benchmark yield. The fund is not available for withdrawal before maturity, as it has been created with the specific intention to boost up the benefit amount come maturity. This amount is also payable in the event of death or permanent total disability of the life assured.
On top of EBF, the life assured is rewarded with an Education Reward of RM500 for UPSR, PSLE or equivalent Standard 6 examinations and RM1000 for SPM/SPVM/O-Level or equivalent Form 5 examinations.
Offered to children as young as 30 days old, Sun EduSmart also took into the importance of ensuring the child’s future is secured in the unfortunate event of death or total permanent disability of the policy owner through a waiver of premium benefit. It also provides additional tax relief under the insurance premium for education benefit in addition to the usual tax relief for life insurance and Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
“We are pleased to partner with Sun Life Malaysia to further add value to our customers through this exclusive innovative education plan. The cost of raising children is reaching astonishing new heights, more so with the sharp rise in education fees in recent years. The financial toll can be challenging to parents and being unable to provide for them can affect the quality of your children's lives in terms of their education and wellbeing. We want to empower parents by educating them about the importance of planning ahead and saving for their children’s future now by giving them the right plan to keep up with the rising costs of living. When it comes to your child’s education, it pays to plan early and taking up Sun EduSmart will be one wise decision our customer can make,” said Dato’ Sulaiman Mohd Tahir, Chief Executive Officer, CIMB Bank.
Sun Life Malaysia Chief Executive Officer, Ooi Say Teng said, “Parenting itself is already a challenging vocation, the decision of where your child should study should be based on the child’s ability and talent, and not hampered by affordability. Through Sun EduSmart, we hope parents are able to concentrate on providing the best education for their children without worrying about the cost as tertiary education is the foundation for their future.”
“In our quest to raise awareness on the need for adequate financial planning, we introduced Money for Life, a customised approach to financial and protection planning. Sun EduSmart joins and complements the suite of bancassurance offerings from Money for Life. Adapted from Sun Life Financial, Canada, Money for Life is available at selected CIMB Bank branches to help the Bank’s customers build a plan for every life stage,” Ooi added.
Sun EduSmart is now available at all CIMB Bank branches nationwide.
