Business
Ceylinco Life raises bar with ‘Future Saver’ – a wealth accumulation product with life cover
A new paradigm life insurance product that offers protection as well as wealth accumulation with an emphasis on the latter has been launched by Ceylinco Life, raising the bar for investment options in Sri Lanka’s financial services sector.
Positioned as the best wealth accumulation product in the market, ‘Ceylinco Life Future Saver’ is designed to enable policyholders to plan for long-term goals by passionately saving for a short period during which their financial stability is at its peak.
This unique concept of long-term protection for a short-term commitment makes Ceylinco Life Future Saver a standout product, offering protection for up to 25 years or more, for premium payments over five or 10 years, based on the policyholder’s capacity and wealth accumulation aspirations.
“Life insurance products must adapt in response to changing socio-economic dynamics,” Ceylinco Life General Manager Marketing Samitha Hemachandra commented. “Future Saver is an excellent example of a product that meets the aspirations of key demographics of the present, especially millennials, young adults aged 25 – 45 years, customers segmented as SEC A, executives and managers in the private and public sectors, professionals, businessmen and self-entrepreneurs. It also advances the Ceylinco Life credo of de-risking the ambitions of its customers with financial security that goes beyond life cover.”
Ceylinco Life Future Saver creates a Wealth Accumulation Fund built on monthly dividend rates declared by the Company for the Basic Premium paid by the policyholder, part of which funds a life insurance policy, while the balance accumulates in the Fund. The Wealth Fund component is carefully managed by professional investment managers who will ensure that it grows each month, enabling policyholders to develop an attractive saving at maturity to achieve future goals such as retirement or children’s education, while enjoying the protection offered by the life policy.
A noteworthy feature of the new product is a Premium Assurance Benefit that guarantees that Ceylinco Life will continue the payment of the basic premium for a policyholder’s Wealth Fund until the end of the premium paying term in the event of the premature death of the policyholder, and will build the Fund for his or her loved ones. In the event of total and permanent disability, the Company will continue the payment of basic premium as well as the premium for life cover until the end of the premium paying term.
This feature ensures that in the event of the death of the policyholder during the term of the policy, the beneficiaries would receive not just the life cover but the Premium Assurance Benefit and the accumulated sum in the Wealth Fund at the maturity date.
Furthermore, Loyalty Rewards will be provided as additional credits at specified internals only to the Wealth Funds of policyholders who have paid their premiums on time, increasing the balance further. This is the most attractive feature of the Future Saver plan which ensures a rewarding maturity value b.
at the end, the Company said.
Adding to the attraction of the Future Saver policy, policyholders are entitled to withdraw up to 10 per cent of the accumulated Wealth Fund twice during the policy term after the third policy year, in case of an emergency.
It also offers a provision to maintain an emergency fund for future needs such as medical expenses, or expenses during retirement, by continuing the Wealth Fund for up to 20 years after the policy matures, by choosing the Lifeline Payout benefit without obtaining the maturity value. In such instances, Ceylinco Life will allow unlimited withdrawals during the extended period, but will continue to credit the dividends to the Fund.
Providing all the benefits available with Ceylinco Life’s standard life insurance products, Future Saver also offers the option of adding supplementary benefits such as Accidental Death Benefit, Total and Permanent Disability Benefit, Critical Illness Benefit and cover for the policyholder’s spouse and children.
Additionally, Future Saver policyholders are entitled to the special rewards exclusive to Ceylinco Life policyholders, such as ‘Pranama’ scholarships for their children and participation in the ‘Family Savari’ mega promotion annually.
Indian tycoon Ratan Tata has died aged 86, says the Tata Group, the conglomerate he led for more than two decades.
Tata was one of India’s most internationally recognised business leaders. The Tata Group is one of India’s largest companies, with annual revenues in excess of $100bn (£76.5bn).
In a statement announcing Tata’s death, the current chairman of Tata Sons described him as a “truly uncommon leader”.
Natarajan Chandrasekaran added: “On behalf of the entire Tata family, I extend our deepest condolences to his loved ones. “His legacy will continue to inspire us as we strive to uphold the principles he so passionately championed.”
During his tenure as chairman of the Tata Group, the conglomerate made several high-profile acquisitions, including the takeover of Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus, UK-based car brands Jaguar and Land Rover, and Tetley, the world’s second-largest tea company.
UK Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in tribute that Tata was a “titan of the business world” who “played a huge role in shaping British industry”.
A profile published in the Economist magazine in 2011 called Tata a “titan”, crediting him with transforming the family group into “a global powerhouse”.
“He owns less than 1% of the group that bears his family name. But he is a titan nonetheless: the most powerful businessman in India and one of the most influential in the world,” the magazine said.
In 2012, he retired as chairman of the group and was appointed chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, the group’s holding company.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Tata as a “visionary business leader, a compassionate soul and an extraordinary human being”.
Paying tribute on X, formerly known as Twitter, Modi recounted “countless interactions” with Tata and said he was “extremely pained” by his death.
Tata was born in a traditional Parsi family in 1937. He studied architecture and structural engineering at Cornell University in the US. In 1962, he joined Tata Industries – the promoter company of the group – as an assistant and spent six months training at a company plant in Jamshedpur. From here, he went on to work at the Tata Iron and Steel Company (now Tata Steel), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and National Radio and Electronics (Nelco).
In 1991, JRD Tata, who had led the group for over half a century, appointed Ratan Tata as his successor. “JRD Tata was my greatest mentor… he was like a father and a brother to me – and not enough has been said about that,” Tata later told an interviewer.
In 2008, the Indian government awarded him the Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second-highest civilian honour.
He was drawn into a rare unsavoury controversy in 2016, when his successor as Tata Sons chairman, Cyrus Mistry, was ousted from the role, sparking a bitter management feud. Mistry died in a car crash in 2022.
The business tycoon also had a lighter side to him. His love for fast cars and planes was well-known – the Tata group website describes these as some of his “enduring passions”.
Tata was also a scuba diving enthusiast, a hobby that fizzled with age “as his ears could take the pressure no more”.
He was also a dog lover and fondly remembered the many pets who gave him company over the decades. “My love for dogs as pets is ever strong and will continue for as long as I live,” the industrialist said in a 2021 interview. “There is an indescribable sadness every time one of my pets passes away and I resolve I cannot go through another parting of that nature. And yet, two-three years down the road, my home becomes too empty and too quiet for me to live without them, so there is another dog that gets my affection and attention, just like the last one,” he said.
He was also often praised for his simplicity. In 2022, a video of him travelling in a Nano car – one of the world’s cheapest cars, now mostly remembered as one of Tata’s failed dreams – went viral on social media.
[BBC]
By Ifham Nizam
In an analysis of Sri Lanka’s public sector, Dr. Lakmini Fernando, Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS), stresses the urgent need for rationalizing public sector employment to create a more productive and efficient system.
Addressing a packed audience at the launch of the IPS annual report, titled “Sri Lanka: State of the Economy 2024” on Tuesday, Dr. Fernando outlined how Sri Lanka’s bloated public sector, while providing substantial employment, should be rationalized for increased productivity.
The public sector employs 15% of the total workforce in Sri Lanka and makes up 35% of formal employment—figures that reflect global trends, where public sectors account for 11% of total employment and 37% of formal employment. In addition, it consumes a staggering 26% of public expenditure and 5% of GDP.
Fernando argued that, in this context, improving the efficiency of this vast machinery is critical, not only for the government’s fiscal health but also for the nation’s social welfare goals.
Fernando added: ‘If we are to achieve our social objectives like the Sustainable Development Goals and improving governance, the public sector must be more productive. In fact, from 2005 to 2023, Sri Lanka’s public sector grew by 60%, from 0.9 million to 1.4 million employees. Despite this expansion, the country’s governance score is alarmingly low, with a rating of -0.65, compared to the much higher ratings of 1.8 in countries like New Zealand and Australia.
‘At its core my proposal is to downsize the public sector, while simultaneously increasing wages for remaining workers. If Sri Lanka reduces its public sector workforce by 20%, it could afford a 30% pay rise for the remaining employees, while keeping the wage bill at 4% of GDP. This would not only boost worker morale but also improve productivity across the board.
‘However, such a pay rise alone would not guarantee productivity gains. The real challenge lies in reforming administrative operations. We need to adopt a new public management approach, similar to those implemented successfully in Malaysia, Singapore, and New Zealand, which focuses on merit-based recruitment and digitalization of services.
‘We need to eliminate “CEO-based performance systems” and replacing them with merit-based assessments to ensure that the public sector hires and retains the best talent.’
Research Officer IPS, Suresh Ranasinghe delved into the challenges facing Sri Lanka’s broader employment landscape. He pointed out that the country’s labour force participation rate had dropped to 48.6% in 2023, while the employment-to-population ratio declined to 46.3%. His research found that unemployment was not the only issue—labour market inactivity was also on the rise, particularly among the youth and less-educated men.
One of the most worrying trends Ranasinghe highlighted was the significant decline in high-skilled employment. From 2018 to 2023, the share of high-skilled workers fell from 23% to 20%, driven by migration during the country’s economic crises. He argued that without competitive salaries and investment in knowledge-based industries, Sri Lanka risked losing even more skilled professionals to emigration.
Both Fernando and Ranasinghe emphasised that immediate reforms are critical if Sri Lanka is to remain competitive in the global economy. Ranasinghe recommended promoting vocational education and training to combat youth unemployment, as well as updating education curricula to meet local and global demand.
By Ifham Nizam
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who also serves as the Minister of Agriculture, Land, Livestock, Irrigation, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, is set to address matters related to the plantation sector, particularly worker wages and other pressing issues, an official said adding that the President has a tight schedule.
He said that the recent agreement in August with the Wages Board provides a daily minimum wage of Rs. 1,350 for plantation workers, along with an additional Rs. 50 per kilogram of tea leaves harvested above the daily target.
There was a Supreme Court interim injunction on 4th July that prevented the implementation of a gazette notification aimed at increasing the daily wage to Rs. 1,700.
Plantation workers can earn productivity-based incentives, which boost their overall earnings, with some additional allowances based on tea leaf collection.
Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe had previously announced a sharp wage hike for plantation workers to Rs. 1,700 during a May Day rally. However, there are ongoing debates about wage structures.
Trade unions and worker advocacy groups welcomed the Wages Board’s decisions, as they have been pushing for better compensation for plantation workers for a long time.
Indian tycoon Ratan Tata dies aged 86
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