Sunday 29 November 2015

Pension plans provide financial security and stability during old age when people don't have a regular source of income. Retirement plan ensures that people live with pride and without compromising on their standard of living during advancing years. Pension scheme gives an opportunity to invest and accumulate savings and get lump sum amount as regular income through annuity plan on retirement.
According to United Nations Population Division World's life expectancy is expected to reach 75 years by 2050 from present level of 65 years. The better health and sanitation conditions in India have increased the life span. As a result number of post-retirement years increases. Thus, rising cost of living, inflation and life expectancy make retirement planning essential part of today's life. To provide social security to more citizens the Government of India has started the National Pension System.


NATIONAL PENSION SYSTEM
National Pension System
Government of India established Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)- External website that opens in a new window on 10th October, 2003 to develop and regulate pension sector in the country. The National Pension System (NPS) was launched on 1st January, 2004 with the objective of providing retirement income to all the citizens. NPS aims to institute pension reforms and to inculcate the habit of saving for retirement amongst the citizens.
Initially, NPS was introduced for the new government recruits (except armed forces). With effect from 1st May, 2009, NPS has been provided for all citizens of the country including the unorganised sector workers on voluntary basis.
Additionally, to encourage people from the unorganised sector to voluntarily save for their retirement the Central Government launched a co-contributory pension scheme, 'Swavalamban Scheme- External website that opens in a new window' in the Union Budget of 2010-11. UnderSwavalamban Scheme- External website that opens in a new window, the government will contribute a sum of Rs.1,000 to each eligible NPS subscriber who contributes a minimum of Rs.1,000 and maximumRs.12,000 per annum. This scheme is presently applicable upto F.Y.2016-17.
NPS offers following important features to help subscriber save for retirement:
  • The subscriber will be allotted a unique Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN). This unique account number will remain the same for the rest of subscriber's life. This unique PRAN can be used from any location in India.
PRAN will provide access to two personal accounts:
  • Tier I Account: This is a non-withdrawable account meant for savings for retirement.
  • Tier II Account: This is simply a voluntary savings facility. The subscriber is free to withdraw savings from this account whenever subscriber wishes. No tax benefit is available on this account.

REGULATOR AND ENTITIES FOR NPS
Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) : Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)- External website that opens in a new window is an autonomous body set up by the Government of India to develop and regulate the pension market in India.
Point of Presence (POP) : Points of Presence (POPs) are the first points of interaction of the NPS subscriber with the NPSarchitecture. The authorized branches of a POP, called Point of Presence Service Providers (POP-SPs), will act as collection points and extend a number of customer services to NPS subscribers. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)- External website that opens in a new window has authorized 58 institutions including public sector banks, private banks , private financial institutions and theDepartment of Posts- External website that opens in a new window as Points of Presence (POPs) for opening the National Pension System (NPS) accounts of the citizens.
Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA) : The recordkeeping, administration and customer service functions for all subscribers of the NPS are being handled by the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL)- External website that opens in a new window , which is acting as the Central Recordkeeper for the NPS.
Annuity Service Providers (ASPs) : Annuity Service Providers (ASPs)- External website that opens in a new window would be responsible for delivering a regular monthly pension to the subscriber after exit from the NPS.
WHO CAN JOIN NPS?
Who can join NPS?
Central Government Employees
NPS is applicable to all new employees of Central Government service (except Armed Forces) and Central Autonomous Bodies joining Government service on or after 1st January 2004. Any other government employee who is not mandatorily covered under NPS can also subscribe to NPS under "All Citizen Model" through a Point of Presence - Service Provider (POP-SP).
State Government Employees
NPS is applicable to all the employees of State Governments, State Autonomous Bodies joining services after the date of notification by the respective State Governments. Any other government employee who is not mandatorily covered under NPS can also subscribe to NPS under "All Citizen Model" through a Point of Presence - Service Provider (POP-SP).
Corporate
A Corporate would have the flexibility to decide investment choice either at subscriber level or at the corporate level centrally for all its underlying subscribers. The corporate or the subscriber can choose any one of Pension Fund Managers (PFMs)- External website that opens in a new window available under “All Citizen Model” and also the percentage in which the funds are allocated in various asset classes.
Individual
All citizens of India between the age of 18 and 60 years as on the date of submission of his / her application to Point of Presence (POP) / Point of Presence-Service Provider (POP-SP) can join NPS.
Unorganised Sector Workers - Swavalamban Yojana
A citizen of India between the age of 18 and 60 years as on the date of submission of his / her application, who belongs to the unorganized sector or is not in a regular employment of the Central or a state government, or an autonomous body/ public sector undertaking of the Central or state government, can open NPS -Swavalamban account. The subscriber of NPS -Swavalamban- External website that opens in a new window account should not be covered under social security scheme like Employees' Provident Fund and miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, The Coal Mines Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1948, The Seamen's Provident Fund Act, 1966, The Assam Tea Plantations Provident Fund and Pension Fund Scheme Act, 1955 and The Jammu and Kashmir Employees' Provident Fund Act, 1961.

BENEFITS OF NPS
Some of the benefits of the National Pension System (NPS) are:
  • It is transparent - NPS is transparent and cost effective system wherein the pension contributions are invested in the pension fund schemes and the employee will be able to know the value of the investment on day to day basis.
  • It is simple - All the subscriber has to do, is to open an account with his/her nodal office and get a Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN).
  • It is portable - Each employee is identified by a unique number and has a separate PRAN which is portable i.e., will remain same even if an employee gets transferred to any other office.
  • It is regulated - NPS is regulated by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority- External website that opens in a new window, with transparent investment norms & regular monitoring and performance review of fund managers by NPS Trust- External website that opens in a new window.
TAX BENEFITS
Tax Benefits
Presently, the tax treatment for contribution made in Tier I account is Exempted-Exempted-Taxed (EET) i.e., the amount contributed is entitled for deduction from gross total income upto Rs.1.00 lakh (along with other prescribed investments) as per section 80C (as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 as amended from time to time).
The appreciation accrued on the contribution and the amount used by the subscriber to buy the annuity is not taxable. Only the amount withdrawn by the subscriber after the age of 60 is taxable.

CHARGES
All the charges associated to Tier I account including Annual PRA Maintenance charge are paid by the employer. In case of Tier II account, activation charge and transaction charges are paid by the subscriber.
The POP charges and the CRA charges are given in the table below:
IntermediaryCharge headService charges*Method of Deduction
CRAPRA Opening chargesRs.50Through cancellation of units at the end of each quarter.
Annual PRA Maintenance cost per accountRs.190
Charge per transactionRs.4
POP
(Maximum Permissible charge for each subscriber)		Initial subscriber registrationRs.100To be collected upfront
Initial contribution upload0.25% of the initial contribution amount from subscriber subject to a minimum of Rs.20 and a maximum of Rs.25,000/-
Any subsequent transaction involving contribution upload0.25% of the amount subscribed by the NPSsubscriber, subject to minimum of Rs.20/- and a maximum of Rs.25000/-.
Any other transaction not involving a contribution from subscriberRs.20
*Service tax and other levies, as applicable, will be levied as per the existing tax laws.
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Friday 27 November 2015

Want to withdraw from your provident fund account? Here's how!

Sanjeev Sinha, ECONOMICTIMES.COM Oct 1, 2013,

(PFs are primarily meant…)
A provident fund (PF) is basically a plan to provide financial security after retirement. It is, therefore, not advisable to withdraw any amount from one's provident fund account as PFs are primarily meant for retirement planning, and retirement planning is the most important goal in any person's life.
"No need to say one should avoid doing so unless there is a great emergency, as the amount should be utilized post one retires or in case one stops working and his/ her earnings have depleted. For other emergencies, one should look at money from investments in other instruments like debt funds, liquid funds or a savings bank account, etc," suggests Anil Chopra, Group CEO, Bajaj Capital.
In fact, there are various advantages of investing in a provident fund (PF). Generally, the return on provident fund is higher than inflation, and is totally tax fee. Thus, withdrawing out of it would have the following consequences:
1) Retirement planning would go haywire
2) Tax-free status would be lost because that money cannot be put back. For example, let's say, someone has a balance of Rs 50 lakh in his provident fund account, and he wishes to withdraw Rs 25 lakh out of that. This amount of Rs 25 lakh cannot be put back into it later, as it is not allowed as per rules.
Therefore, "withdrawal from a PF account is generally discouraged, as the purpose of opening it and accumulating money there is mainly for the second innings of your life, which is post retirement," says Chopra.
Nitin Vyakaranam, Founder & CEO, Arthayantra.com, is of similar opinion. "Withdrawing PF stands out as the classic case of lack of prioritization and holistic approach in our financial decision making process. By making withdrawals from the PF to fund other goals, we end up pushing our retirement age or making higher contributions towards building retirement fund during the last few years of our employment," he says.
However, in case one wants to withdraw money from his/ her PF account, the rules for the same are very stringent, which also vary as per the types of provident funds. In India PFs are of three kinds:
a) Public Provident Fund (PPF) - For general public
b) Employees Provident Fund (EPF) - For private sector employees
C) General Provident Fund (GPF) - For government sector employees
In case of PPF, which is normally meant for 15 years, withdrawal is allowed before that also, but under very stringent norms. For example, no amount can be withdrawn at all for the first six years. After six years, the amount equivalent to 50 per cent of the balance, which was there more than 3 years ago, can be withdrawn. Thus, the entire money cannot be withdrawn before the end of 15 years. Even after 15 years, it can be rolled over for another period of 5 years and after that every five years it can be rolled over or closed.
Similarly, in case of EPF or GPF, withdrawal is not allowed generally unless one has given up working or wants to be self-employed, etc. As per EPF rules, you are allowed to withdraw money only if you have no job at the time of withdrawing your fund and if 2 months have passed. Only transfer is allowed in case you have switched to a new job. Some people, however, withdraw the EPF after 60 days of leaving the organization, stating that they don't have any job, but this is illegal as per the EPF rules, if you are doing so after switching to a new job.
  Thus, if you have no job at the time of withdrawing your fund and if 2 months have passed after leaving your organisation, then you are allowed to withdraw the fund. A declaration is required to be given stating the reason for the same. Otherwise, partial withdrawal is allowed in certain cases, which is in the form of loan, where one has to pay back that amount later and before that, has to state the reason for opting for withdrawal, for example, self or daughter's marriage, buying a home, education of self or children, medical treatment for self or family, among others.
There are certain specified criteria under which partial withdrawal is permitted. In case of education or marriage, for instance, the employee should have completed at least 7 years of employment or service. The maximum aggregate withdrawal can't exceed 50 per cent of the total contributions made by you and withdrawal can be made only thrice during a person's total service tenure. Proof of education or wedding is also required to be submitted.
Likewise withdrawal is permitted for medical treatment of self, spouse, parents and children. In this case, however, there is no restriction regarding the number of years of service. But the maximum amount one can withdraw is six times the basic salary and proof of hospitalization is required.
In case you wish to withdraw from your EPF account for purchase/construction of a house, then you need to have completed at least 5 years of service. The maximum withdrawal amount is 36 times your monthly salary (for construction of property) and 24 times (for purchase of property). In this case withdrawal is allowed only once during the entire service tenure.
For alteration or renovation of house, withdrawal is allowed up to 12 times your monthly salary and only once during the entire service tenure. But the house need to be registered in your or your spouse's name or should be owned jointly.
If you need to withdraw for repayment of home loan, then you should have completed at least 10 years of employment. The maximum withdrawal amount is 36 times the monthly salary of yours and withdrawal is allowed only once during the entire service tenure.
If one has retired or stopped working, he/ she needs to fill a PF withdrawal form and share his/ her bank account number, which has to be counter signed by the employer. After this, the money is directly sent to one's bank account. The process takes longer in case of EPF - anywhere between 2 weeks to may be up to two months also.
"On the other hand, if you have a PPF account, withdrawal is very easy after completion of 15 years. You can collect the demand draft or cheque by going to the post office or bank on the same day or get the money transferred in your bank account. Thus, one can get the money in a day's time," informs Chopra.
Also, if one wishes to withdraw before the end of 15 years, let's say 6 years, the amount which can be withdrawn as per rules will be calculated, and by filling an application in the prescribed format, it can be taken out maximum in one day's time. Thus, withdrawing from PPF is easier than withdrawing from EPF or GPF.
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Tuesday 10 November 2015

Here’s the thing: I don’t know what to do.
About this thing, about that thing. About big things and small things.
About anything.
Actually, to be honest, even the smallest thing seems big when I don’t know what to do about it. The state of “not knowing what to do” is like some kind of Miracle Grow for small things in my mind.
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LIFE...

Time...

Truth..

Achievement...

Success...

Right & Wrong...

     Confusing riddles which can be answered only with an Hypothesis



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