four months later, he was finally discharged, but without his sight, he could not return to work.
On the question as to why Newman could not continue to work, Bill explains that back in the 1980s when his father lost his sight, there were no personal computers. In the legal world – where even the simplest of cases requires reams of typed reports and documentation – this meant that his father had no tool that would allow him to continue to work.
“ Losing my ability to read, was one of the most difficult things to come to terms with,” says Newman.
Newman had to close his legal practice and spend the rest of what would have been his working career, at home.
Losing your sight and your ability to work, would – for most people – mean serious financial hardship.
Thanks to PPS, this was not the case for the Newman family.
“ I met a financial adviser as a student. During my final year of legal studies, he recommended I become a member of PPS. I remember I still asked him how this could be done as I was not practicing yet, but still studying. He told me about student membership and that is how my life-long relationship with PPS started,” he recalls.
Newman became a full member in 1978 and also added Profmed as medical aid to his portfolio.
Following the accident in 1987, Newman submitted a Permanent Disability claim, and received his monthly pay out until he retired. During these years, he remained a PPS member and paid his monthly premium towards his retirement policy, totalling R252 492.43 over the years.
Because he continued paying towards a qualifying PPS product – apart from receiving his salary every month from PPS – he also continued to earn Profit-Share allocations until he retired.
“ We were very pleased to receive the letter from PPS informing my father that he was a PPS Profit-Share millionaire shortly before his retirement. Once retired, this allowed him to buy a unit in a retirement village,” says Bill.
“ If you do the calculations, you see that he not only earned back all the money he paid in premiums through his Profit- Share pay out, but an additional R750 000. That is a good return on investment,” says Bill.
When asked how the accident impacted on his life, Bill just smiles.
“ I was only four years old when it happened. I can remember very little. What I can remember is that as a child I always thought it was so odd that both parents of other children at school had to work, yet mine were always home and always available( Newman’ s wife was a homemaker even prior to the accident).
“ Because we never had any financial troubles, my sister and I had happy childhoods. My parents even paid for both our initial tertiary qualifications. I often joke and say that I am a‘ PPS baby’ because it was thanks to PPS that our family could be that, a family.”
Newman’ s advice to young people?
“ Get insurance, from the moment you can. And medical aid. Medical aid is very important,” he stresses.
Although not through PPS( because the company at that stage did not offer the products), he had short-term insurance and even business assurance at the time of the accident and thereafter.
The business assurance helped to close his practice without any financial drawbacks for him or his partner.
Now, almost four decades after that dreadful day, the sorrow the accident caused in Newman’ s life is clear, but so is the tight bond between him and his son. The numerous references to good memories from Bill’ s childhood are also testament to how – deciding as a young student to become a member of PPS – not only saved Newman’ s life, but also his and his family’ s livelihoods.
* The member and his son prefer to remain anonymous.
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