Bucking the effects of rising cost of education

MANILA, Philippines - Another school year is about to end. It’s that time of the year when the kids will be looking forward to another two and a half months of relaxation, free from stress, deadlines, and the pressure of homework and projects.

Similarly, the summer months will be stress-free for parents who will be spared from tuition fees, school project requirements, uniforms, allowances and other expenses that took quite a substantial amount of money from their pockets during the entire year. “Freedom at last,” most parents would say. Rightly so… but not for long. 

Come enrollment in May or June, panic starts. Tuition fees would have again increased and cost of books and uniforms would have escalated as well. The situation repeats year after year and a sense of insecurity will once again prevail with every parent asking these questions: Do I have enough to enroll all my children next school year? What if my budget is not enough? Do I borrow money from relatives, friends, or maybe apply for a loan in the office to cover for the tuition fee increases?

The fear of not having enough to cover for the rising cost of education often threatens a parent’s dream of giving his children good education. This is more true for parents with an average of two or more children, who are all of school age. 

As shown by government data, tuition fees increase by 12.5 percent annually. So how do Filipino parents cope?

Sun Life Financial-Philippines’ research on Filipino consumers called Solar or Study of Lifestyles, Attitudes and Relationships revealed that 90 percent of parents fund their children’s education only at time of need. Sources of funding are from their personal savings account or from their monthly income. Clearly, these sources of funding are uncertain and almost always not enough due to other household expenses that need to be paid.

To help parents prepare in advance for their children’s education, Sun Life Financial - Philippines has launched ‘Sun Dream Achiever,’ a protection and savings product-in-one that offers parents a practical alternative to saving for future expenses. The product provides for life insurance and guaranteed cash benefits for education funding.

“Sun Life has been in the business of securing the future of Filipinos for 116 years and the company knows the importance of careful planning for one’s future needs. We came out with this product to help Filipinos become more proactive in preparing for the education of their children,” says SLFP Chief Marketing Officer Mylene Daez-Lopa.

Payable within five years, Sun Dream Achiever provides four annual cash payouts intended to fund the child’s education expenses, regardless of school and course chosen. These cash payouts increase by 15 percent every year, where total benefits equal 100 percent of the Face Amount. The insured parent may even customize the policy to include supplementary benefits such as protection from accidental death, and waiver of premiums in case of total disability of the parent with optional cash benefits during disability.

“What is interesting about this product is the insured parent is given the option to choose when to receive the annual cash payouts, from 12 to 17 years after the policy takes effect. This allows the insured to use the cash payouts either as a high school or college education fund,” Lopa added.

Furthermore, the product protects the life of the parent/payor for the entire duration of the plan, ensuring that the child can continue his education no matter what happens.

Many have said that education is the best gift that a parent could give to his children, and it being such, one has to prepare for this most important financial need in life.