I saw a regular 30 years premium endowment policy incepted 12 years ago which provide a benefit illustration projecting a net return to the policyholder of 6.5% per annum! Worst still, the premium used was CPF-OA. So imagine the large opportunity cost. This is not the only insurers like this. All except one insurer have been cutting bonuses because they are not able to meet their projection. Policyholders who bought these policies because of being attracted to the yield would felt let down. The lesson? Don't trust the marketing hype. Be realistic and never have your bulk of your money lock in for say 30 years. It is always good to be flexible and have high liquidity. Don't invest in non-liquid asset which you cannot withdraw when you feel it is not worth it.