A pension plan or retirement plan is a savings plan through which you will save money for retirement. The retirement years are golden years where your earnings will be almost zero. You can consider them as insurance as well as investments. The insured will contribute a regular premium to the insurance company. The premium will be used to build the corpus. After the maturity date, the corpus will be paid to the insurance company and the insurance company will pay the amount on a monthly basis. If the insured person dies, the beneficiary will get the sum assured and bonuses.
The regular payouts that you get from it are called annuity. You can choose the monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual payout as per your convenience.
Types of Pension Plan
There are two types of annuity plans. They are ‘differed annuity’ and ‘immediate annuity’ plan.
- Deferred Payout – If you opt for the former, the premium will be paid in monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. The annuity will commence as per the time period specified in the annuity contract.
- Annuity Payout – If you go for the latter, a lump sum will be paid as a premium to the insurance company. The annuity will begin immediately. The annuity will continue throughout the policy term or the life of the policyholder.
Tenure
There are two types of pension plans based on tenure.
- Fixed-term annuity
With the ‘life annuity pension plan, the annuity will be paid to the policyholder until the death.
In case of the fixed term annuity pension plan, the annuity will be paid to the policyholder until a fixed term as per the terms and conditions of the policy. In most of the cases, the payment term will be earlier than the death of the policyholder.
Benefits
There are many benefits associated with this. You will accumulate a corpus for the golden years while you are young and energetic.
- The amount paid in the form of the premium will get exemption under Section 80CCC of the income tax act.
- You should choose either a deferred annuity plan or immediate annuity plan as per your needs.
- During the accumulation stage, you will contribute on a regular basis. You can get income post-retirement in the form of pension.
- If you don’t require pension immediately, you can choose annuity deferred pension plans. If you start a subscription to the pension policy at an early age, as there will be sufficient time to build the corpus.
- With the help of the immediate annuity plan, you will get a pension immediately. It is considered a non-participating deal. The policyholder will not get benefits such as bonus.
- The immediate annuity plan can be subscribed by any individual above 30 years of age. You can pay a lump sum amount to the insurance company and the monthly pension will start immediately. If you do not have any other source of income, you can choose the immediate option.
Retirement Calculator
To build the corpus as per your needs, you can use the retirement calculator. If you enter the cost of living, inflation rate, retirement age and number of years (that you expect to live after retirement), you will be able to calculate the corpus without any issues.
The need for it
You need this to manage the regular source of money after retirement. It is possible to maintain the lifestyle without any issues when you get monthly income.
- The rise in life expectancy, rise in health costs and absence of government-supported pension plans, will compel an individual to choose a comprehensive pension plan.
- There are various kinds of deals to safeguard your interests. By choosing a Unit-linked pension plan, you can expect higher returns. However, there will be a great risk to your capital.
- You can enjoy tax benefits on the premium and the corpus that you build through the pension fund will be utilized to purchase an annuity. As there are various types of annuities, you can choose the most appropriate annuity to fulfill your needs.
- You will manage financial independence in post-retirement life by choosing the best option for you
Conclusion
The pension plan will regular money when you do not get paid after retirement. You should have great peace of mind after retirement. The hobbies and your commitments should be fulfilled with a steady source of income. You can become financially independent. Even though you have access to the retirement strategy provided by the government or your employer, you should go for a comprehensive retirement plan to fulfill your needs to the best possible extent.