Annuity means a fixed sum of money paid to a subscriber at a set frequency for the rest of their life.
An annuity provides a regular income (it could be monthly, quarterly, annual, etc) at a specified rate for a specified period chosen by the subscriber. It means the person can pay the money to an Annuity Service Provider (ASP) and choose an annuity option to ensure a regular income after retirement.
In NPS, a subscriber must use at least 40 per cent of the corpus to buy an annuity. From the corpus of NPS, 60% can be withdrawn as a lump sum after retirement, and the rest 40%, is invested in any annuity scheme of the subscribers choice and is paid back by way of pension to the subscriber. In case of premature exit before reaching the age of 60 (or before retirement) , NPS subscribers will have to invest 80 per cent of the corpus to get the annuity scheme. Although all amount invested and the capital gains from the investments in NPS are tax-free on withdrawal, the amount paid as pension will be added to your income and taxed as per the income tax slab applicable to you.
The annuity schemes are provided by the annuity service providers who are empaneled with PFRDA.
The amount you invest into an annuity depends on the type of annuity you want and the goals you want to achieve
There are five types of annuity plans that one can invest in.
At a premium rate prevalent at the time of purchase of the annuity, utilizing the purchase price required to be returned under the contract until all the members given below are covered:
Pension to Subscribers | Pension to Spouse | Pension to Family (dependent parents of subscriber) | Principal amount back nominee / legal heir | Indicative monthly pension on corpus of Rs.10 lakhs in annuity | |
Lifetime Income with No Capital refund | YES | 6,946 | |||
Life & Last Survivor with 100% Income | YES | YES | 6,088 | ||
Lifetime Income with Capital Refund | YES | YES | 4,983 | ||
Life & Last Survivor with 100% Income with Capital Refund | YES | YES | YES | 4,974 | |
NPS - Family Income | YES | YES | YES | YES | 4,974 |
1. As annuity a long-term engagement with the ASP, choose a plan and company that can provide you long term safety and assurance
2. How much of the corpus to invest in Annuity – on retirement, you can invest anywhere between 40% and 100% of your corpus in annuity. You will have to balance your need for immediate cash flow on retirement with your need for a higher pension. The higher the amount you invest in Annuity, the higher pension you will get.
3. Which scheme you want to prefer – this will depend on the dependency your family members have on the pension amount you get. As you can see from the table, the pension amount reduces as you choose, pension for your spouse on your demise, or principal amount back to your nominee. If you spouse and family members are not financially dependent on your you can choose the lifetime income scheme.
4. Also keep in mind that you will have to engage with the ASP more than 20-30 years after retirement, by way of providing them with proof-of-life documentation. This will also include period when your physical mobility will be limited. So choose an ASP that will provide you access to technology for any documentation needs.
Author: Sreekanth Nadella, MD and CEO – KFintech
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