I heard a lot people bash endowment plans. Can I seek an opinion in what scenario does endowment plans help? From what I know. It helps with people with definite goals e.g. retirement, education etc?

It's really and risk / return preference. Also consideration on lock in. Some people consider lock in as a good force saving feature, some don't. One man's meat is another poison. Use this to decide if endowment is suitable for you.

Well, it depends on one's needs. If a person has a very low risk appetite, likes to have "forced" savings and prefers a form of guaranteed returns, endowments would be suitable.

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Other than that, personally I don't really like endowments due to the long lock up period, medicore returns, and lost opportunity cost if I were to channel the funds towards my own portfolio instead.

Endowment plans are like savings plan that can help towards your retirement goals. However, you need to commit to a number of years and you may even get back lesser money compared to what you have put in if you withdraw earlier. I would personally prefer Singapore Saving Bond where you can withdraw anytime without any penalties.

It's best for people that can't save on their own. If you can mange your own money and have investing knowledge, I think its better for you to DIY. End of the day you'll learn when you lose cash. And then apply past lessons to future lessons.