Here are some recommended financial websites:

Related link: » How to pick a good financial website

1. CPF website (http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg)

The virtual tools will give you a good start in estimating your financial needs. Begin by answering the questions in the IM$avvy Quiz. IM$avvy users can also watch financial videos, attend webinars, watch webcasts, read and comment on blogs and engage in online forum discussions.

For basic financial planning, a good starting point is to estimate the amount of personal protection and savings you need to achieve your financial goals, said Mr Lam from IPP Financial Advisers.

Here are some virtual calculators you will find on the website:

• The Savings Calculator will enable you to learn how much and for how long you need to save to reach your financial goals.
• For investments, the Compound Interest Calculator helps you calculate the compounded value of an investment, which you can use as a basis for the projected returns.
• For life insurance, there is the Insurance Estimator. Based on your current assets and liabilities, you will be able to estimate your required life insurance coverage.
• For retirement, Mr Lam recommends the Retirement Saving Interactive Calculator which helps determine the amount of savings you need to retire based on your desired retirement age and lifestyle.

2. ipac's Online Wealth Manager (http://www.ipacasia.com/wealth/singapore/)

The newly launched OWM was conceptualised to help people get a glimpse of the real values of financial planning.

Said ipac: 'The only constant in life is change; hence the flexibility to juggle several financial goals simultaneously, and understanding the impact it has on long-term capital longevity, is what gets users started on the next step.'

The user can click on one of the five available objectives. They are:

• Planning for retirement or financial independence
• Buying a property
• Planning for your child's overseas education
• Working abroad, and
• Planning for a major life change.

This is followed by a series of interactive questions. The online wealth manager assesses a user's general financial standing based on the answers and provides a summary encouraging the user to plan his finances and to complement it with subsequent steps.

The online wealth manager lets the user develop 'what if' scenarios and calculates alternative benefit amounts, so there is a level of flexibility for users.

3. Others

For tax planning, you can plan in advance by using the Income Tax calculator to estimate your tax on the Iras website at www.iras.gov.sg

Financial planner Dennis Ng likes the National Financial Education website www.moneysense.gov.sg for its useful articles and consumer guides.

As he believes that a good financial website should be interactive, he visits sites that host active discussion forums.

Mr Ng notes that both www.shareinvestor.com and www.masteryourfinance.com have active forums. The latter is an education website set up by Mr Ng to provide financial information and practical strategies that can be applied in the Singapore context.

Mr Chris Firth, chief executive of wealth management firm dollarDEX, said its website www.dollardex.com offers a free portfolio review for first-timers.

'It takes a comprehensive look at your portfolio from a risk perspective and assessment of your goals. It will provide suggestions for improvements to the portfolio and the amounts needed to achieve goals,' he said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.