The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) has relaunched its existing Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional-i Plus (SSPN-i Plus) with various upgraded benefits. Now renamed Simpan SSPN Plus, the newly rebranded savings scheme offers perks such as increased coverage for death and total and permanent disability, and expanded protection for critical illnesses.

To set the stage, the existing SSPN-i Plus – which was launched in 2015 – featured a collaboration between PTPTN with only one takaful service provider, Hong Leong MSIG Takaful. There are a total of six contribution packages that depositors can commit to, with each having different savings and takaful contribution amounts. In terms of advantages, SSPN-i Plus offered perks such as death benefit and coverage for total and permanent disability (via accidents) of up to RM1 million, as well as protection for critical illnesses of up to RM100,000. The shariah-compliant scheme also offered competitive dividend and allowed for income tax relief of up to RM15,000.

Meanwhile, the rebranded Simpan SSPN Plus now sees three takaful service provider joining in the effort with some new and upsized benefits, namely Hong Leong MSIG Takaful, Great Eastern Takaful, and Takaful Ikhlas Family. If you do deposit into the Simpan SSPN Plus scheme, you’ll be given the flexibility to choose between any of the three providers, although the six contribution packages remain the same.

Here’s a table to help you get a better idea as to how the previous SSPN-i Plus and the new Simpan SSPN Plus compare:

	SSPN-i Plus (Coverage until age 64)	Simpan SSPN Plus (Coverage until age 69)
Death benefit/Coverage for total and permanent disability (via accidents)	Up to RM1 million	Up to RM1.2 million
Death benefit/Coverage for total and permanent disability (normal)	Up to RM500,000	Up to RM1 million
Temporary total disability	Up to RM100,000	Up to RM200,000
Terminal/Critical illnesses	Up to RM100,000 (36 critical illnesses)	Up to RM200,000 (45 critical illnesses)
Hospitalisation allowance (per day)	Up to RM200	Up to RM250
Death beneficiaries support	– Depositor: Up to RM18,000 – Spouse: Up to RM9,000 – Three children: Up to RM2,000 per child	– Depositor: Up to RM25,000 – Spouse: Up to RM12,500 – Five children: Up to RM5,000 per child
Funeral arrangements	N/A	– Up to RM10,000
Outpatient treatment due to accidents	N/A	– Up to RM3,000
Income tax relief	– Up to RM8,000 (for net savings) – Up to RM7,000 (for takaful contribution)	– Up to RM8,000 (for net savings) – Up to RM7,000 (for takaful contribution)

In launching Simpan SSPN Plus, the chief executive officer of PTPTN, Ahmad Dasuki Abdul Majid said that Simpan SSPN Plus is both competitive and unique because of its concept, where education savings is complemented by the benefits of takaful protection. This makes it one of the best education savings plans in the market. “More than 690,000 existing SSPN-i Plus accounts will also enjoy more exciting benefits with the new Simpan SSPN Plus product,” he further said.

Additionally, Ahmad Dasuki emphasised that the launch of Simpan SSPN Plus is in line with PTPTN’s Strategic Plan (2021-2025) to manage savings funds effectively, based on excellent governance, integrity, and strategy. You can find out more about Simpan SSPN Plus here on PTPTN’s official website, or check out its brochure.

Aside from rebranding the SSPN-i Plus scheme as Simpan SSPN Plus, PTPTN has also renamed its existing SSPN-i as Simpan SSPN Prime. Aside from the name change, however, the benefits for Simpan SSPN Prime remain the same. These depositors are still entitled to tax relief of up to RM8,000 (up to 2022), free takaful protection for ringgit-to-ringgit deposits of RM1,000 and above, as well as a matching grant of up to RM10,000 for an eligible family with household income not exceeding RM4,000.

(Source: PTPTN)

• TAGS:
• Ahmad Dasuki Abdul Majid
• Great Eastern Takaful
• Hong Leong MSIG Takaful
• National Higher Education Fund Corporation
• PTPTN
• Simpan SSPN Plus
• Simpan SSPN Prime
• SSPN-i
• SSPN-i Plus
• Takaful
• Takaful Coverage
• Takaful Ikhlas Family