Good day to you.
My wife and I would like to join you in your Protest Against NTUC Income's unilateral change in bonus payout. We are joining you in this protest because we have a few policies, bought for ourselves and our children, from NTUC Income.
Please let us know if you need to have our actual signature on the Letter of Protest which you plan to submit on 30-May AGM.
REPLY
Please get your family members to sign on this form and also get the signatures of your friends and colleagues as well. You can mail to my home.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Difficult questions
Hello Mr Tan,
1) Can Income unilaterally change the bonus structure without policyholders' consent?
2) According to MAS's reply: "bonus declarations and bonus restructuring are commercial decisions". Can the commercial practices be applied to Income (a cooperative)?
3) According to Mr Ken Ng: "staying put would cut Income's investment flexibility and the potential to invest in assets such as equities that could earn a higher return in the longer terms". How much more return can policies holders expect should the change pass through? How long is "long term"?
4) What penalties will the Chief Actuary, CFO and CEO get, if their decisions are unsound, after they inplemented the new policies, and then subsequently leave the company, bearing in mind that their policies needed "LONG TERM" to see the "fruits" !
REPLY
I suggest that you address the questions to NTUC Income and MAS. I am not able to answer them. I am as puzzled as you are.
1) Can Income unilaterally change the bonus structure without policyholders' consent?
2) According to MAS's reply: "bonus declarations and bonus restructuring are commercial decisions". Can the commercial practices be applied to Income (a cooperative)?
3) According to Mr Ken Ng: "staying put would cut Income's investment flexibility and the potential to invest in assets such as equities that could earn a higher return in the longer terms". How much more return can policies holders expect should the change pass through? How long is "long term"?
4) What penalties will the Chief Actuary, CFO and CEO get, if their decisions are unsound, after they inplemented the new policies, and then subsequently leave the company, bearing in mind that their policies needed "LONG TERM" to see the "fruits" !
REPLY
I suggest that you address the questions to NTUC Income and MAS. I am not able to answer them. I am as puzzled as you are.
Well done, DBS
I sent a request for DBS Bank to print the monthly statements for my company's bank account for the past year. It requires them to retrieve the statements, scan them and send to me.
I received the scanned statements by e-mail. I expected DBS to inform me about the charge for this service. I am used to banks asking for astronomical charges.
There was no mention of any charge. It seems that I am getting this service for free!
Well done, DBS.
I received the scanned statements by e-mail. I expected DBS to inform me about the charge for this service. I am used to banks asking for astronomical charges.
There was no mention of any charge. It seems that I am getting this service for free!
Well done, DBS.
NTUC Income is a cooperative
Dear Mr. Tan,
NTUC is special; it is a cooperative; it is different from the rest. We have many advantages, there is no need to set aside 10% of the profit for distribution to shareholders.
Cooperatives, after deducting all expenses, the remaining profit can be distributed to POLICYHOLDERS. In the past expenses made of only 2%, the other 98% was distributed. We have an advantage of 10%. In other words we have more to distribute.
If we retain the 10%, we can still distribute high annual bonus. On top of this we have 20% saving on profit on corporate tax. This too serves as advantage over the other company.
Why talk of insolvency and smoothing when NTUC has a lot to spare.
Something is wrong somewhere. Unless expenses have gone up. Where? Pay very high salary to senior managers? (Other references deleted)
Remember NTUC was started to provide affordable insurance to the man in the street; to give low premiun, high protection and good return. What has happened to these cooperative values?
This was the mission. It is not the mission TO BE THE #1 INSURER AT ALL COST. The mission is to make sure all the men in the street are insured adequately and not to be saddled with high commission whole life products. To provide insurance at affordable premium and with decent return on investment. And not with products to enrich the agents at the expense of the customers and to make NTUC #1.
NTUC is special; it is a cooperative; it is different from the rest. We have many advantages, there is no need to set aside 10% of the profit for distribution to shareholders.
Cooperatives, after deducting all expenses, the remaining profit can be distributed to POLICYHOLDERS. In the past expenses made of only 2%, the other 98% was distributed. We have an advantage of 10%. In other words we have more to distribute.
If we retain the 10%, we can still distribute high annual bonus. On top of this we have 20% saving on profit on corporate tax. This too serves as advantage over the other company.
Why talk of insolvency and smoothing when NTUC has a lot to spare.
Something is wrong somewhere. Unless expenses have gone up. Where? Pay very high salary to senior managers? (Other references deleted)
Remember NTUC was started to provide affordable insurance to the man in the street; to give low premiun, high protection and good return. What has happened to these cooperative values?
This was the mission. It is not the mission TO BE THE #1 INSURER AT ALL COST. The mission is to make sure all the men in the street are insured adequately and not to be saddled with high commission whole life products. To provide insurance at affordable premium and with decent return on investment. And not with products to enrich the agents at the expense of the customers and to make NTUC #1.
A philosophy in people management
To be fair to Kin Lian, he has a very good philosophy on people management which has made NTUC Income strong and successful, i.e better to have good people giving their best performance rather to have best people giving average performance.
As long as the people have the passion, Kin Lian will give them the chance to do their best and strengthen what they are good at. That’s why people have serve faithfully to the organisation which is contrary to what the new management thinks that these old staff has no where else to go.
People have worked in Income long because they respected the leader then who is committed in looking after the best interest of NTUC Income and giving best values to the policyholders. It was meaningful then to serve the organisation which has a sound purpose and good values.
NTUC Income was never meant to a retirement place until the new CEO started to coin it himself. People were proud to be working at NTUC Income until the new management think likewise.
TheFact
As long as the people have the passion, Kin Lian will give them the chance to do their best and strengthen what they are good at. That’s why people have serve faithfully to the organisation which is contrary to what the new management thinks that these old staff has no where else to go.
People have worked in Income long because they respected the leader then who is committed in looking after the best interest of NTUC Income and giving best values to the policyholders. It was meaningful then to serve the organisation which has a sound purpose and good values.
NTUC Income was never meant to a retirement place until the new CEO started to coin it himself. People were proud to be working at NTUC Income until the new management think likewise.
TheFact
New management style
Dear Mr. Tan,
I am an ex-employee, Somebody posted above that staff who left are staff that Income do not want anyway. This is not true. When I was with Income, I was among the 10% of the staff who obtained A grade every year. I was assessed an A grade by my superior, my peers and my subordinates. My work and achievements were measurable and every year I met or exceeded the expectations.
Ironically, I decided to resign from an organisation and a work that I was very dedicated to. For 8 months I tired my best to work under the new management. I finally decided to leave as I knew that I could not fit into the new management style. I was not in sync.
Many of the things I had to do, I did not agree. Things that were right before became dicey or wrong under the new management. I could not go on if I did not believe in what I was doing.
For example, I believe that Income, like Fairprice for groceries, have to set the benchmark for the basic insurance products for the mass market such as term life cover, medical insurance and motor insurance. Income's products cannot be more expensive than those offered by the commercial insurers.
Hence, recent statement from Income's management that they need not be cheaper than the commercial insurance companies for motor insurance gave me the shudder.
I am an ex-employee, Somebody posted above that staff who left are staff that Income do not want anyway. This is not true. When I was with Income, I was among the 10% of the staff who obtained A grade every year. I was assessed an A grade by my superior, my peers and my subordinates. My work and achievements were measurable and every year I met or exceeded the expectations.
Ironically, I decided to resign from an organisation and a work that I was very dedicated to. For 8 months I tired my best to work under the new management. I finally decided to leave as I knew that I could not fit into the new management style. I was not in sync.
Many of the things I had to do, I did not agree. Things that were right before became dicey or wrong under the new management. I could not go on if I did not believe in what I was doing.
For example, I believe that Income, like Fairprice for groceries, have to set the benchmark for the basic insurance products for the mass market such as term life cover, medical insurance and motor insurance. Income's products cannot be more expensive than those offered by the commercial insurers.
Hence, recent statement from Income's management that they need not be cheaper than the commercial insurance companies for motor insurance gave me the shudder.
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