The Financial Planning Institute (FPI) today, in celebration of Advanced Healthcare Planning Day, announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Hospice Palliative Care Association of South Africa (HPCA). The MOU seeks to reinforce FPI’s commitment to establish a close working relationship with HPCA to provide inter alia, financial planning education to HPCA staff members and the general public, and promotion of advanced healthcare education to financial planners and advisors.
As an independent recognised professional body for financial planners in South Africa, FPI seeks to maintain high levels of financial planning standards and ethical financial planning. The collaboration between FPI and HPCA will explore opportunities to educate the 134-member hospices working in the many South African communities.
The MOU will support HPCA’s mission of promoting quality in life, dignity in death and support in bereavement for all living with a life-threatening illness by providing sound financial planning provided by FPI. This would be in line with FPI’s commitment to empowering consumers by creating awareness of the benefit of professional financial planning and advice, as well as advanced healthcare education.
“I welcome the partnership with FPI both to provide tools for professional financial planners to alert clients to the benefit of Advanced Healthcare Planning and for the hospice staff and patient benefit of sound financial planning advice. Financial planning for retirement is important so that we don't face financial hardship in old age. We need to start saving for retirement while we are still young and fit. In the same way, even while we are still young and healthy, we should start thinking about our future health needs and make sure we have documented our preferences for care through an advanced healthcare plan”, says Dr Liz Gwyther, CEO of HPCA.
FPI and HPCA have agreed to implement a coordinated financial planning education programme for HPCA staff members and callers, to be implemented through the FPI MYMONEY123™ financial literacy education programme. This would include the following:
- Exploring further opportunities for joint collaboration nationally on financial education and advocacy platforms with the HPCA offices.
- FPI to promote the Advanced Healthcare Planning document to use amongst members and promote education in advanced healthcare planning.
- Both FPI and HPCA will implement a pro bono service for hospice clients and their families.
- FPI will promote advanced healthcare planning to its members.
Chief Executive Officer of FPI, Godfrey Nti said, “Sound financial planning is key for everyone and one of FPI’s goals is to establish pre-eminent standards for practicing financial planning and financial advice. In turn this creates the trust between consumers and financial professionals. Through this partnership with HPCA we ensure to inform hospice clients and staff about their best possible options to healthcare and financial planning.”
By championing expansion of access to professional financial planning and services, FPI will make these services available to ordinary South Africans. Ultimately the MOU will help beneficiaries survive from one pay cheque to another to encourage saving then investing. The environment that FPI and HPCA are cultivating is one that will benefit hospice clients and staff to better understand the value of financial planning and to use the tools provided to be financially stable.
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