Sunday, June 17, 2012

SMART TIPS FOR A FINANCIALLY SECURE RETIREMENT

Two hours packed with tips and advice on how to stretch our ringgit, reduce our debts and ensure a financially comfortable retirement. That was what Ms Koid Swee Lian, CEO of AKPK (Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit - fully funded by Bank Negara), shared with our group of seniors this morning (Sat 16 June).

Ms Koid and her team had gone the extra mile  to conduct this special presentation to address the specific financial concerns of those aged 50 and above. Our seniors also shared their personal stories so that others could avoid the costly mistakes they had made. It was a two-way channel of learning and sharing. We gave AKPK an insight into some of the very real financial problems that seniors face.


A captive audience listening to sound advice on money management from Ms Koid.

What should we do if we feel we have been cheated? How do we make a complaint? What does it take to be declared a bankrupt? Is it prudent to pay only the minimum amount of your credit card expenses? Government vs private hospitals - which one should we opt for?


All these questions and more were raised at the session. Having served in senior positions in banking, insurance and law with Bank Negara since 1981, Ms Koid was the right person to offer expert advice to our seniors.

For more details, I highly recommend you get hold of this little gem of a book "Money $ense". Only RM5. Our group received complimentary copies.

Plenty of useful tips in these booklets. 

If you need advice on managing your debts, do drop by at AKPK. They provide free one-to-one personal counselling to help you work out your debt repayment. AKPK is located on Level 8, Maju Junction Mall, Jalan Sultan Ismail, KL. They are open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.30pm. Call toll free 1-800-88-AKPK.

You can also check out AKPK website at http://www.akpk.org.my/. It is content-rich with free downloads of documents e.g. the Self-Help Guide for Debt Relief Plan. It has everything you need to reduce your debts, including a debt relief flow-chart and steps on how to negotiate directly with lenders on debt repayment proposals.

For the benefit of those who did not attend Ms Koid's talk:




How would you know if you need financial counseling? Here are some telltale signs.


One for AKPK album, and for SeniorsAloud blog.

A BIG thank you to the following people who enlightened us on financial prudence and took such good care of us, including feeding us! You made our visit to AKPK such a memorable one.

Koid Swee Lian (CEO), 
Khalil Jamaldin (Manager, Corporate Communication), 
Azman Hasim (GM, Operations), 
Nor Fazleen Zakaria, (GM, Corporate Services)
Noor Hamiza Muswan (Financial Education Dept)


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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very frankly, how many Malaysian retiree have the half million Ringgit used in the above example?
Most will only have around 100 odd thousand and according to a study done by the government some years ago, it will be finished within three years!!

Unknown said...

Nice blog and pictures.Keep it up!!!!

elderly care