Should i surrender my policy?

I am 32 single. i have been paying for my Great Eastern Prime retirement policy for 6 years. As thinking has changed and i understood more about bank interest rate and SG bonds, should i surrender my policy now and lose $6.5k so that the future money could be better put into other pots such as bank or SG bond for higher payout OR should i continue to pay $1k yearly until 60 years old and only from 65 onwards i will get $500/monthly for the next 10 years? Because personally i feel waiting until 65 to get $500/monthly is quite little compare to how you can get more payout if you put into bank etc. when i was younger i didnt think much hence just bought retirement plan thinking it is good to have a retirement plan and all settled but now, as i grow older, thinking changed.

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stonechat

Edited 20 Feb 2025

Hi I was in the same situation, but I paid only for 1 year. I couldn't really sleep because the policy term was 20 years. I talked to a broker and some FA, and they gave different advice. At the end I surrendered the policy and lost about $5000.

It was painful but I could sleep better knowing I don't have something tying me down. Now I'm just saving in banks, investing on and off, and topping up my CPF SA. This is more doable for me because I can decide when to invest and when cashflow is low, I can take a break. There's no penalty. I know longer want to be tied up to a 20 year plan. It gives me too much stress and sleepless nights.

However, if it's $1K per year and you can afford it, I think you should continue because when you're older, the premium will be higher for such plans. You may also have very little surrender value. In my case, because it's just 1 year, there's zero value. The broker I spoke to told me there are agencies that buy plans, but most of them will look at the term before deciding if it's worth to purchase. Speak to a few seasoned matured FA who cares about you. Each policy is different so i think it's best to have a neutral experienced FA help you review it before you make a decision.

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