What are the pros and cons of an endowment plan? I am currently paying for the Prudential plan and I am a NSF, was it a wise choice?

Honestly, at present, opting for a savings product with an extended lock-in period might not be the most advantageous choice. Given the current scenario of high-interest rates and the extended commitment period, it may not align well with your current financial circumstances. Consider DIY your own SP500 ETF dollar averaging, and you will likely to achieve better results.

To be honest, now may not be the optimal time for a savings product that entails a prolonged lock-in period. The prevailing high interest rates and the extended commitment period may not align favorably with current financial circumstances.

The returns from Endowment Plans aren't great, even in the long run. But it has its merits.

Here are some reasons why people get Endowment Plans despite the low returns:

1) It forces them to save. Financial success starts with good savings habits. If you want to build a saving habit, and don't have any alternatives (ie. UT/ETF/Stocks/Bonds) that you are comfortable with at the moment, then an endowment plan would be your next best bet.

2) They have a goal that requires a sum of money at a planned time period. For example, if you are saving for a big ticket item 10 - 20 years down the road and you want to be certain that you will have money for that. Endowment plan will provide SOME level of guarantee and give you SOME certainty that you can reach that goal. However, the guarantee does come at a cost (of lower returns, and some others). So it depends on which is more important to you - the level of returns OR the guarantee.

You should consider stopping the endowment plan if:

1) You are struggling to finance this $200/month and this is starting to cause you to eat into your savings. That being said, it is always good to have some stress. Like going to the gym - you wont get muscles if you dont feel the pain. You'll have to judge for yourself, or speak to your financial consultant about this.

2) It was an impulse buy. And you are feeling the buyer's regret now. While you will make a loss if you surrender the plan, I think it will be the better choice to surrender it. Simply because this "buyer's regret" will keep coming back to haunt you.

3) You bought because of chiobu or free gift XD

My two cents: I personally love endowment plan as it has guaranteed portion, it gives Reversionary bonus, with compounding effect. It has to be a long term, to let the compounding effect works longer and gives better return. Investment does not have guaranteed portion, you may even risk losing all of your capital if you do not monitor your investment closely, which bring me to another good point about Endowment plan that is you do not need to watch your portfolio as intense.

Endowment policy plans also generally provides death benefit (commonly 105% of premium paid). Some includes TPD & TI.

It ”forces” you to have a system of savings, you are forced to save Before you spend.

as for investing: only goes into that after your have built your emergency fund of 6-12 month of your expenses, also ask yourself, if you loose all the capital, can you still sleep well at night. :)

But then if you are still not sure if your current plan is worth continuing , we can discuss over a netmeeting. I am from Pru, should you want a second opinion.