A Complete Guide to a Retirement Plan
All of us want our golden years to be comfortable and stress-free. In fact, the latest trends have indicated that people are opting for early retirement in order to spend more time with family.
The following is a comprehensive guide of retirement planning, including its features and the best retirement plan as per your needs.
What is a retirement plan?
A retirement plan is setting aside an amount for your golden years that will enable a smooth and comfortable life. With a structured plan, retirement planning can help you to handle various factors, including surpluses, shortfalls, and emergencies and understand how quickly you can meet your financial goals.
While the features are common, the types can vary basis the type of the retirement plan.
Retirement plans by insurance companies
Such plans involve using part of the premium amount to provide life cover while the remaining is used to build a corpus for your retirement. The retirement amount is invested in low-risk assets to avoid excess volatility in returns.
Retirement planning by mutual funds
Some mutual funds offer investment in pension plans approved by the government with a balanced fund of 40:60 equity-debt allocation. However, in these cases, only one fund option is offered to investors.
Features of Retirement Plans
Some of the features of such plans are:
Guaranteed pension: The real feature of retirement planning is the regular income guaranteed. A pension scheme ensures a steady income and helps you live a fulfilling life post-retirement.
Tax-efficient: Investing in a retirement plan also ensures tax deduction under Section 80CCC of the Income Tax Act of India, 1961. Investors can avail a tax exemption up to ₹1.5 lakhs for their contribution.
Accumulation stage: The accumulation stage in retirement planning is higher for deferred annuity plans. The regular pension scheme is activated post payment of a few premium schedules.
Vesting period: The period from when the pension scheme begins ranges between 45 to 50 years, but some plans allow vesting age till 90 years.
Liquidity: Certain plans offer partial withdrawals for investors to take care of their liquidity needs.
Surrender value: Although most retirement plans are long-term if a person wishes to discontinue, the company pays the surrender amount, which is the sum of all the premiums paid.
Retirement planning should be started as early as possible and not left for old age. Regular contributions can make your future secure and help in leading a respectable life post-retirement.