Top 10 Pension Plans in India

A pension or retirement plan is an investment option that helps in allocating savings to build a corpus over a fixed tenure. Under pension plans, you have to invest regularly during your employment years to reap benefits once you get retired. A suitable pension plan helps you to beat the growing inflation rate and assists you and your family to deal with the needs of the post-retirement period.

If you are looking forward to a happy and relaxed retirement life, consider buying a pension plan at the earliest. For your convenience, we have listed out the top 10 pension plans in India that won’t disappoint you. 

List of Top 10 Pension Plans in India

1. HDFC Life- Click 2 Retire
2. ICICI Pru- Easy Retirement
3. Max Life Guaranteed Lifetime Income Plan
4. LIC New Jeevan Shanti
5. SBI Life Saral Pension Plan
6. HDFC Life- Assured Pension Plan
7. Reliance- Smart Pension
8. Bajaj Allianz- Pension Guarantee
9. Birla Sun Life Empower Pension
10. Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana

Note: All details of the products have been sourced directly from the official websites of the pension plan providers. Below mentioned plans are selected on the basis of eligibility, premium payment, and policy tenure.

1. HDFC Life Click 2 Retire Plan

The HDFC Life Click 2 Retire insurance plan is basically a unit-linked online insurance plan that offers market based-returns and also assists the insured to meet the post-retirement needs. This plan can be availed at affordable premium rates.

Features

• The plan comes out with the benefit of pension plans along with market-linked returns.
• The minimum entry age is 18 years and the maximum is 65 years.
• The plan provides a death benefit that would be higher of the fund value or by 105% of the paid premiums.
• The minimum maturity age is 45 years and the maximum is 75 years.
• Policyholders can avail of tax benefits under section 80CCC of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

2. ICICI Pru Easy Retirement Plan

ICICI Pru Easy Retirement is one of the popular pension plans that provide a steady income to the insured when his/her salary ends after retirement by making an investment in stocks. This plan offers long-term returns and protects the insured against market volatility.

Features

• The minimum premium amount that you require to pay is Rs.48,000 per year.
• The plan comes out with multiple payment frequency modes such as monthly, bi-annual, and annual.
• The minimum age to get insured under this plan is 18 years and the maximum is 70 years 
• The policy is available for 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years.
• Under this pension policy, the minimum maturity age is 30 years and a maximum of 80 years.
• The plan offers tax benefits on premiums as well.

3. Max Life Guaranteed Lifetime Income Plan

The Max Life Guaranteed Life Income Plan is a traditional pension plan that assists the policyholder with a regular income after retirement.

Features

• The plan keeps on providing a pension until you and your spouse are alive.
• In case of the death of the insured, the plan provides the entire purchase price to the nominee.
• You can receive a pension on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually basis.
• The plan offers six annuity options.

4. LIC New Jeevan Shanti Plan

The LIC New Jeevan Shanti insurance plan is a non-participatory, non-linked, single premium payment plan that offers the benefit of returns through deferred annuity options. You can avail of this policy through online as well as offline mode. Under this plan, the payout modes of a deferred annuity are divided into two options - Joint Life Annuity and Single Life Annuity.

Each of them offers its own set of benefits.

Features

• By making a one-time investment, you can avail of a long-term source of income. 
• Policyholders can avail of add-on cover for dependent people with disabilities under the plan. 
• The plan offers a discount on annuity rates. 
• Policyholders can choose from four annuity modes- monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, and annually. 

5. SBI Life Saral Pension Plan

The SBI Life Saral Pension Plan is a non-linked, participating, and traditional individual plan that offers protection to the policyholders against market volatility. 

Features

• Pays guaranteed income for the initial 5 years. For the initial three years, it is 2.50% of the sum insured and 2.75% of the sum assured for the rest of the years.
• The minimum tenure of the policy is from 5 years to 40 years. 
• To invest in this plan, you have to pay a minimum premium of Rs.7,500/annum. 
• The minimum entry age is 18 years and the maximum is 65 years. 
• The minimum sum assured is Rs.1 lakh with no maximum limit. 

6. HDFC Life Assured Pension Plan

The HDFC Life Assured Pension Plan is a unit-linked pension plan that offers market-based returns and loyalty add-ons that assist policyholders to meet the desired pension goals.

Features

• The plan offers guaranteed vesting benefits along with market revenues.
• The plan provides loyalty additions from the eleventh year of the policy.
• The minimum age to invest in this plan is 18 years and the minimum maturity age is 45 years.
• The plan comes out with unique and limited payment options.
• The plan provides death benefits to the nominee that would be higher of fund values or 105% of the previously premiums paid. 
• You can avail of tax benefits under the Income Tax Act,1961. 

7. Reliance Life Insurance Smart Pension Plan

The Reliance Smart Pension is a unit-linked and non-participatory pension plan that helps you to save systematically. It allows you to build a lump sum, which can provide you with a regular income after retirement.

Features

• You can choose a policy tenure of 10 and 30 years.
• Under this plan, you will receive guaranteed loyalty additions.
• The minimum maturity age is 45 years and the maximum is 75 years.
• You can avail of tax benefits under section 80C and 10 (10D) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• You can choose from a list of optional riders to boost your policy coverage. 

8. Bajaj Allianz Pension Guarantee Plan

The Bajaj Allianz Pension Guarantee Plan provides a regular income and immediate annuity benefits to you during the post-retirement period. 

Features

• The plan provides six pension options to choose from.
• The minimum age to insure yourself under this plan is 37 years and the maximum is 80 years.
• The minimum purchase price is Rs 25,000, whereas there is no limit for the maximum.
• By investing in this plan, the minimum pension that you can receive is 1,000 rupees (monthly).
• The plan allows you to extend the pension to the spouse as well.

9. Birla Sun Life Empower Pension Plan

The Birla Sun Life Empower Pension is a unit-linked and not a participating pension plan. The plan assists you to build a financial corpus for the post-retirement days.

Features 

• The policy tenure of the plan varies between 5 and 30 years. The maximum retirement age is 80 years.
• The minimum entry age is 25 years and the maximum age is 70 years.
• The plan provides regular premium paying options.
• The plan offers a self-managed option that allows you to choose the desired fund option as per your risk appetite.
• You can avail of tax benefits under Section 80CCC and Section 10(10A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 

10. Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana Plan

Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana is a pension scheme, which is specifically designed for senior citizens by the government of India. It is a great plan for senior citizens as it provides an assured return of 7.4% per annum. The scheme can be purchased online through Life Insurance Corporation of India as they have been given sole rights to operate it.

Features

• There is no maximum age to invest in this plan.
• Policyholders can avail of a maximum pension of Rs.1,11,000 per annum. 
• Pension payment would be made through NEFT or Aadhar card linked payment systems.
• If the policyholder survives the entire policy tenure of 10 years, the final pension installment plus the purchase price will be payable to him/her. Know More

Sum it up

Pension plans help you to gain financial independence so that you can enjoy the retirement period of your life. So, don’t wait and invest in an appropriate pension plan today to safeguard your future.