Parents often set focus on their children's tertiary education, thinking that it is the metaphorical apex of education related expenses. Though this may not be far off from the truth, one must also bear in mind that pre-tertiary education requires a good deal of funding and financial planning too.

A university or post-graduate degree is arguably the culmination and most important aspect of one's entire academic pursuits, but pre-tertiary education actually sets the foundation and forms the building blocks for your child's future.

Note that these projected costs do not take into account any tuition or extra-curricular costs and fees.

The OCBC School Plan is essentially a savings plan to build up your child's education fund. It features a short-term premium commitment with a 12 or 18 year tenor. This Regular Premium Endowment Plan distributes Annual Benefits payable from the 6th policy anniversary onwards which can go towards financing your child's pre-tertiary education.

Payouts are deposited into an OCBC School Savings Account, which earns one of the highest interest rates in the market for a savings plan. The monthly or yearly premiums are also paid via this same deposit account for your convenience.

The School Plan has a built-in Life Insurance policy, and protects against death and total and permanent disability of the policyholder.

Plan I features a 12 year tenor, with a Annual Premium of $2,518.35 or a Monthly Premium of $217.85 to be paid for the first 6 years of the policy. Thereafter you will receive a Yearly Cashback of $1,200 for 6 years.

On top of that, there will be a Guaranteed Maturity Benefit of $4,800 and there may also be a Non-Guaranteed Maturity Benefit of $6,303.

This is tantamount to a potential Total Benefit of $18,303 as compared to Premiums Paid of $15,110. Based on these figures, the potential yield works out to 2.39 per cent per annum.

Only children aged 0 to 9 years of age are applicable for this plan and it is intended to cover costs related to your child's Primary School education.

Plan II also has an overall tenor of 12 years. However, under this scheme, the Premiums and Payouts are all higher. Either an Annual Premium of $6,195.45 or a Monthly Premium of $535.91 is paid for the first 6 years to yield a Yearly Cashback of $4,800 for 6 years thereafter. Following which, there will be a Guaranteed Maturity Benefit of $1,200 and there may also be a Non-Guaranteed Maturity Benefit of $14,325.

This adds up to a potential Total Benefit of $44,325 as compared to Premiums paid totalling $37,173. Under this plan, the potential yield works out to 2.47 per cent per annum.

Only children aged 0 to 9 years of age are applicable for this plan and it is intended to cover costs related to your child's Secondary and Junior College education.

The School Plan III is different from the previous two plans in that it involves an 18 year tenor. Premium Payments are made for the first 6 years and then Yearly Payouts will be received for the following 12 years. Again, one has the option of either an Annual Premium of $7,817.70 or a Monthly Premium of $676.24.

From year 7 to year 12, a Yearly Cashback of $1,200 is received. From year 13 to year 18, a Yearly Cashback of $4,800 is received. At the end of the plan, there will be a Guaranteed Maturity Benefit of $4,000 and there may also be a Non-Guaranteed Maturity Benefit of $34,321.

For a total of $46,906 in Premiums paid, the potential Total Benefits received comes out to $74,321. The potential yield for this plan works out to 3.58 per cent per annum.

Only children aged 0 to 3 years of age are applicable for this plan and it is intended to cover costs related to your child's Primary, Secondary and Junior College education.

All three plans offer Life Insurance protection. In the case of death the Basic Sum Assured is paid out and for total permanent disability, a benefit* is also paid out. The Sum Assured is $12,000 for Plan I, $30,000 for Plan II and $40,000 for Plan III.

Aside from this, the School Plans feature Premium Waiver Benefits. That means that premiums payable on the policy are waived upon the occurrence of the policyholder's death or total permanent disability, until the policy matures.

These plans can give you peace of mind in knowing that you will not need to worry about running out of funds for child's education during some unfortunate turn of events.

*Only 20 per cent of the Total Permanent Disability benefit will be paid out in cases where the child is below age 1.

Young parents often find that most of their monthly income goes towards household expenditure and loan payments, and might find it difficult to set aside a disciplined portion of savings in preparation for their child's education.

Our School Plan offers a convenient and flexible way to set aside money to build up your child's education fund. Depending on your child's age and your level of disposable income, choose from our range of 3 different plans.

You can reap a very high yield projected at as much as 3.58 per cent per annum and enjoy the added safety of having life and total disability insurance protection.