Financial time bomb in Singapore households

Almost three-quarters of households in Singapore could face financial disaster in the future due to worrying levels of inertia around wills and life protection, a new survey by online matching service findaWEALTHMANAGER.com has revealed.

• 71% of affluent women in Singapore admit that they/their partner do not have an up-to-date will in place that reflects their current wishes
• Almost a further tenth simply do not know if this vital document has been kept up to date – this despite the fact that 38% of women say they take sole responsibility for financial decisions in their household
• Life insurance and income protection levels are also worryingly low, with just 60% of wealthy women confident that they/their partner have adequate provision in place
Almost three-quarters of households could face financial disaster in the future due to worrying levels of inertia around wills and life protection, a new survey by online matching service findaWEALTHMANAGER.com has revealed.

Currently, 71% affluent women in Singapore admit that they/their partner do not have an up-to-date will in place that reflects their present wishes, while a further 9% do not know if this vital document has been kept current.

Just as worryingly, almost a quarter (23%) of respondents report that they do not have adequate life and income protection insurance in place, with a further 17% not knowing if they have taken sufficient measures to ensure their family’s security.

These figures should not imply any lack of engagement in financial matters among affluent females, however. Today, 38% of affluent women in Singapore say they take sole responsibility for financial decisions in their household, while a further 47% making decisions jointly with their partner.

Just 16% of females cede decision-making on investment management and financial planning matters to their partner. The survey results seem rather to be symptomatic of a widespread apathy around wills found around the
world: it is estimated that in the UK, for example, that 60% of the population has not made a will at all and 30 million people die intestate every year.

Dominic Gamble, Chief Executive and Co-founder of findaWEALTHMANAGER.com, says:“The inertia around wills and life protection our survey shows is really worrying. It’s understandable that
people don’t want to contemplate their own mortality but their fear of leaving their family without adequate financial and legal arrangements in place should really over-ride this. “Putting robust plans in place for if the worst should happen is one of those tasks a professional adviser can be invaluable for – and is another instance of true peace of mind being really quite easy to achieve if people are proactive. The consequences of dying intestate or without life/income insurance in place can be devastating, and with high-quality, cost-effective advice so readily available there really is no excuse not to take action.”