Getting a good retirement healthcare plan

ALLIANZ Life Insurance Malaysia Bhd understands the importance of healthcare, especially during one’s golden years of retirement and is looking into educating and raising the awareness of the general public to be financially equipped upon retirement; where medical attention is crucial.

Source from (The Star Online): http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/SME/2013/06/29/Savings-may-not-be-enough-Getting-a-good-retirement-healthcare-plan.aspx
Published: July 01, 2013

“Most people today understand the importance of having a medical plan; especially to cover their medical expenses during their retirement,” said Allianz Life chief market management officer Chin Tze How.

“Yet many are bogged down by more critical financial obligations such as repayment of their home loan, hire purchase loan and for those with children; building up an education fund to pay for their children’s tertiary education. There are also some who defer buying a medical plan as they believe they will not need it since they are in good health.

“This mindset needs to be changed as what we do now can affect us in the future. The need of treatment and medical assistance will increase as people become older, so planning early is crucial,” he said.

With medical cost inflating at double digit percentage each year, it will be very hard to save adequately for retirement.

Also as a person grows older, their chances of being diagnosed with chronic conditions or critical illness such as cancer and coronary artery diseases will be higher. This means there will be a high possibility of having their retirement savings being wiped out by the medical expenses to treat those conditions.

For a start, customers can consider to purchase a medical plan with deductible if they cannot afford to buy a comprehensive medical plan.

A medical plan with deductible is a plan where the customer will need to pay part of the medical bills while the remaining amount will be covered by the insurance company depending on the selected medical plan’s limit.

It is an affordable basic medical plan and can also be use to boost their employer’s medical scheme, if any.

Most insurance companies will offer a few deductible levels that can be used to customise to the customer’s budget but it is still best to have a proper assessment done by an insurance agent particularly to minimise any out-of-pocket medical expenses while they are actively employed.

Additionally, there are also medical plans such as Allianz Life’s MediAide, an optional rider attachable to PowerLink, also provide an option to zerorise the deductible amount during retirement without reassessing the person’s health at that point.

With this option, customers can have the best of both worlds — paying a lower premium while they focus on other financial obligations and converting to a comprehensive medical plan during their retirement when they need it the most.

“Start planning for your retirement now. It may not be easy but it will be an action that you will never forget later in life for the fruits of its benefits are abundant,” concluded Chin.