Ceylinco Life's retirement plan:

2nd retirement planning month launched

Ceylinco Life has announced plans to launch its second Retirement Planning Month in a continuation of an effort begun last year to promote retirement planning in Sri Lanka.

To be observed from May 1 to 31, the second Retirement Planning Month will be preceded by a mass media campaign focusing on the need for retirement planning, targeting existing policyholders and the working community in general.

Explaining the reasons to launch a second Retirement Planning Month Ceylinco Life's Deputy Chairman R. Renganathan said:

"The first ever retirement planning month in the country was immensely helpful in educating the public on the importance of retirement planning. This year's events will help maintain the momentum, and build on the gains made last year."

A special feature of this year's Retirement Planning Month is that anyone who buys a Ceylinco Retirement Account (CRA) during this period or those who increase the value of their accounts during the month of May will automatically qualify for a draw at which ten Singapore holiday packages will be presented.

These packages will include air tickets and accommodation for three days. During the Retirement Planning month, nearly 5000 Ceylinco Life personnel will be deployed islandwide to discuss retirement planning with potential customers.

The company will also distribute leaflets that will help people understand retirement planning and the need for it and conduct street promotions at branch level. The initiative will also be supported by outdoor banners, pennants and other interactive events in many parts of the island.

The first ever Retirement Planning Month conducted in May 2008 generated impressive results for Ceylinco Life. The company sold approximately 7,000 new CRAs during the month and as a result, Ceylinco Life achieved its entire year's target for CRAs by the end of the first five months of 2008, Renganathan disclosed.

Ceylinco Life retained its position as the life insurance market leader at the end of 2008 with premium income of Rs. 8.2 billion.

The company's life fund stood at Rs. 21 billion as at December 31, 2008, and its solvency margin was five times that requested by statute.