Pension Plans

 NPS- any individual is allowed to voluntarily join NPS since May 1, 2009. Any Indian citizen between 18 and 60 years can join NPS.

Under the NPS, individuals are allowed to select or change entities known as POP (point of presence), investment pattern and fund manager. This ensures that one can optimise returns as per his/ her comfort with various asset classes (equity, corporate bonds, government securities and alternate assets) and fund managers.

There are two types of NPS accounts — Tier 1 and Tier 2. Tier 1 account is mainly meant for retirement savings where one has to make a minimum contribution of Rs 500 while opening the account. It also entails tax benefits under Section 80CCD (1B) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Under the NPS Tier 1, a person is allowed to withdraw 60 per cent of the accumulated corpus contributed during his/ her working years at the time of retirement, which is tax-free. The remaining 40 per cent is converted into an annuatised product.

NPS Tier 2 is an open-access account with a minimum investment of Rs 1,000, where the subscriber is free to withdraw his/ her entire corpus at any point in time. No tax benefits are available in this account.

NPS Contribution: Rough Calculation

If an individual joins the scheme at the age of 25 and starts contributing Rs 5,000 a month. The total contribution will be Rs 21 lakh till the time of retirement. Given the expected 10 per cent return annually, the total investment will grow into Rs 1.87 crore. Now, if the subscriber converts 65 per cent of the corpus into an annuity, the value will be Rs 1.22 crore. Assuming the annuity rate of 10 per cent, the monthly pension can be Rs 1 lakh, apart from a lumpsum amount of about Rs 65 lakh