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Retire from Work, not Life! National Pension System for Retirement Planning

August 31, 2023

Life is a beautiful gift, and age is just a number. If you approach life with a positive outlook, everything you encounter and feel can be positive and joyful. Your thought process and mindset play a big part in how happy you are, so it all depends on those. Although the legal retirement age is 60, you can still be young at heart after that age.

Retiring from work doesn’t mean retiring from life! One has to have a retirement plan, as it is a crucial aspect of financial management that often gets overlooked. As we navigate through the various stages of life, it becomes important to secure our future and ensure a comfortable retirement. One such avenue that has gained significant popularity in recent years is the National Pension System.

An early retirement plan is a type of investment strategy in which the retiree sets his retirement income goals and determines how to achieve them. The retirement plan can also help in managing your and your family’s post-retirement expenses, such as health and medical costs, lifestyle costs, etc., while considering the risks and amount of investment required.

The National Pension System comes with various features and benefits. Wondering what they are? Let’s discuss them briefly.

Features of the National Pension System

  1. Portability – NPS is a portable pension system, so members can keep contributing even if they change jobs.
  2. Choice to choose – Investment options are available through NPS, allowing subscribers to select their preferred mix of government securities, corporate bonds, and equity investments.
  3. Management of the fund – Managers of pension funds oversee the investments made with subscriber contributions.
  4. Convenient – Subscribers can invest in NPS on a monthly basis through a systematic investment plan, which can assist them in building a corpus over time.
  5. Low cost – Due to its reputation for affordability, it is a desirable choice for long-term savings.

Benefits of the National Pension System

  1. Tax benefits are available for contributions to the NPS under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, and there are also additional deductions available under Section 80CCD (1B).
  2. Subscribers can withdraw up to 60% of the corpus as a lump sum on retirement and use the remaining 40% to buy an annuity, which provides a regular income.
  3. Market-linked returns are offered to subscribers by NPS, which invests in a variety of government, corporate, and equity securities.
  4. Subscribers have flexibility in terms of pension income because they can select from a variety of annuity plans and providers.
  5. NPS sends account statements to subscribers on a regular basis, allowing them to monitor their pension savings and investment performance.

Conclusion

Overall, with its diverse investment options, tax benefits, and annuity choices post-retirement, the National Pension System provides individuals with a comprehensive platform for long-term financial planning and security.

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How Does the National Pension System (NPS) Benefits You – Simple Explanation

August 3, 2023

When you start a business or switch to a new career, what would you look at? ‘What would I get in return? How will it be beneficial?’ The answer is simple: ‘benefit’. Remember those days when we would choose a college and a course to pursue?

The scenario of investing is no different. Whether you invest a small amount or a huge amount, you tend to look for benefits. What would you look for when you invest in NPS? The main thing that comes to mind is – benefits. The earning potential of NPS is higher as compared to other fixed-income schemes.

There are many benefits of NPS. We will discuss some of them in this blog.

National Pension System (NPS)

Returns/Interest
The National Pension System (also known as National Pension Scheme) benefits the investor as it offers returns that are relatively higher than other tax-saving investments like PPF, although it may not offer guaranteed high-returns.

Risk Analysis
Currently, the National Pension System’s equity exposure is capped between 75% and 50%. The cap for government workers is set at 50%. The equity portion will decrease by 2.5% annually in the range specified starting in the year the investor turns 50. However, the cap is set at 50% for investors 60 years of age and older. As a result, the risk-return relationship is stabilised in the interest of investors, protecting the corpus to some extent from the volatility of the equity market.

Flexibility
This is another National Pension System benefit as it gives investors the power to choose their fund manager from a pool of 7.

Liquidity
After 60 years, the remaining 40% may be invested in any annuity plan, while the remaining 60% may be withdrawn. After paying for three full years, you can also withdraw up to 25% of the money for any emergency needs.

Diversification
Risk is reduced through diversification because NPS gives you the option to select from a small number of asset classes, including equity, corporate bonds, government securities, and alternative funds.

Benefits from Taxation
The NPS programme allows for a tax benefit of up to two lakhs. The NPS scheme has three provisions that govern the tax benefits. 80CCD (1), 80CCD (1B), and 80CCD (2) are the three. Every person will be given a tax-free lump sum withdrawal at retirement, up to 60% of the total.

Low Cost
One can invest as little as ₹1000 in the NPS scheme each fiscal year. The minimum contribution needed to open an account is ₹500.

Conclusion

Every investment you make today has to have a purpose. While investing in the National Pension System (also known as National Pension Scheme), you tend to look at its benefits while achieving your financial goals.