Best Pension Plans in India

Pension plans are schemes designed to keep the future of the employer in mind, which helps the employer to secure their financial future and under this, you can use a part of your current income as saving to secure your retirement life. These plans are best suited for senior citizens who are effectively planning their retirement.

Having said that below are the top pension plans in India you can consider parking your money and securing your rainy days. Here you go:

Top Pension Plans In India 2020

Below are some of the top pension plans in India:

• LIC Jeevan Nidhi Pension Plan
• LIC Jeevan Akshay 6 Pension Plan
• HDFC Life - Click 2 Retire
• SBI Life Saral Pension Plan
• HDFC  Life - Assured Pension Plan
• Reliance - Smart Pension Plan
• ICICI Pru - Easy Retirement
• Bajaj Allianz - Pension Plan Guarantee
• Aditya Birla Sun life Empower Pension Plan
• Max Life Guaranteed Lifetime Income Pension Plan
• Max Life Forever Young Pension Plan
• Bajaj Allianz Retire Rich Pension Plan
• Reliance Immediate Annuity Pension Plan
  
  

Pension Plans in India	Entry Age	Policy Term	Tax Benefit	Annuity Payable
Aditya Birla Sun life Empower Pension Plan	25-70 years	5-30 years	Offers tax benefit U/S 80C IT Act	Minimum-Rs.12,000 annuallyMaximum- No upper limit
Bajaj Allianz Pension Plan Guarantee	37-80 years	N/A	Offers tax benefit U/S 80C &10(10D) of IT Act	Minimum-Rs.12,000 annuallyMaximum- No upper limit
Bajaj Allianz Retire Rich Pension Plan	30 years- 73 years	7 years – 30 years	Offers tax benefit U/S 80C of IT Act	N/A
HDFC Life Click 2 Retire	18-65 years	10,15-35 years	Offers tax benefit U/S 80C of IT Act	N/A
HDFC  Life Assured Pension Plan	18-45 years	N/A	Offers tax benefit U/S 80C IT Act	N/A
ICICI Pru Easy Retirement	18-70 years	10-30 years	Offers tax benefit U/S 80C &10(10D) of IT Act	N/A
LIC Jeevan Akshay 6 Pension Plan	30 - 85 years	N/A	Offers tax Benefit U/S 80C of IT Act	It depends on the purchase price and entry age.
LIC Jeevan Nidhi Pension Plan	---	5-35 years	Offers tax benefit U/S 80C of IT Act.	Regular premium payment- Rs. 1 LakhsSingle-Premium- 1.5 lakhs
Max Life Forever Young Pension Plan	30 years-65 years	20 years	Offers tax benefit U/S 80C of IT Act	N/A
Max Life Guaranteed Lifetime Income Pension Plan	Immediate Annuity- 0-80 yearsDeferred Annuity- 45- 80 years	N/A	Offers tax benefit U/S 80C IT Act	N/A
Reliance Immediate Annuity Pension Plan	20 years- 80 years	N/A	Offers tax benefit U/S 80C of IT Act	N/A
Reliance Smart Pension Plan	18-65 years	Single premium-10-30 yearsRegular & limited premium-15-30 years	Offers tax benefit U/S 80C & 10(10D) of IT Act	N/A
SBI Life Saral Pension Plan	18-65 years	Regular Premium-10-40 yearsSingle Premium-5-30 years	Offers tax benefit U/S 80C of IT Act	Rs.1 lakhNo upper limit

 Disclaimer: “Policybazaar does not endorse, rate or recommend any particular insurer or insurance product offered by an insurer.”

Helpful Resource: Types of Annuity

1. LIC Jeevan Nidhi Pension Plan:

This is one of the best pension plans wherein the accumulated amount is used for generating your pension according to your survival after the term of the policy.

Benefits and Features:

• The premiums that you pay are eligible for tax exemption under section 80CCC of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• For the first five years of the policy, you will get guaranteed additions at Rs.50/- per thousand Sum Assured for every completed year.
• From the sixth policy year, the policy starts participating in the profits of LIC.
• There is no maximum limit for the basic sum assured. However, the minimum sum assured offered by the company under this plan is Rs.1 Lakh, if you pay regular premiums. For single premium policies, the basic sum assured is Rs.1.50 Lakhs.
• The policy term may range from 5 years to 35 years.
• The minimum vesting age for this top pension plan is 55 years and the maximum is 65 years.

 

2. LIC Jeevan Akshay 6 Pension Plan:

This is an annuity retirement plan that you can buy by paying a single premium of lump-sum amount. This LIC Pension Plan for Retirement is the best pension plan for the investor who needs immediate annuity. You can start availing the benefits of this plan immediately after purchasing the plan.

Benefits and Features:

• The premium is paid in a lump sum.
• You can get the pension monthly, quarterly, yearly, or half-yearly.
• There is no maximum limit for annuity or price of the purchase, etc.
• The minimum price to purchase this plan is Rs.1 Lakh for offline channels of distribution and for online distribution channels it is Rs.1.50 Lakhs.
• You do not require undergoing any medical tests to avail of this policy.
• The minimum age to take this policy is 30 years and the maximum age is 85 years.
• The premium you pay is eligible for tax exemption.

 

3. HDFC Life - Click2Retire:

It is an online Unit Linked Insurance Plan that provides you the market-linked returns in minimum premium rates. In this way, this guaranteed HDFC pension plan helps you to meet your post-retirement needs.

Benefits and Features:

• The plan provides you the guaranteed vesting advantages with additional market gains.
• The minimum age to take this plan is 18 years and maximum age is 65 years.
• The low maturity age is 45 years and the maximum maturity age is 75 years.
• Tax benefits are provided under section 80C and section 10A of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• The plan provides the death benefits which can be higher of the policy’s fund value or 105% of the premiums that are paid till then.

 

4. SBI Life Saral Pension Plan:

It is an individual, non-linked, participating, traditional top pension plan that offers protection to you from volatility and fluctuation of the market. This top SBI pension plan offers guaranteed bonuses for the first five years.

Benefits and Features:

• Guaranteed bonuses are provided for the first 5 years.
• You can also get the vesting benefits on the plan’s maturity.
• The plan also provides loan tenure ranging from 10 years to 40 years.
• The minimum entry age for this top pension plan is 18 years and maximum age is 65 years.
• The minimum premium that you can pay annually is Rs.7, 500 with no cap on the maximum limit.
• The minimum maturity age of this plan is 40 years and the maximum age is 70 years.
• The sum assured does not have any maximum limit whereas the minimum sum assured that you can expect from this plan is Rs.1 Lakh.

 

5. HDFC Life - Assured Pension Plan:

This Unit Linked Pension plan provides market-linked returns along with loyalty add-ons so that you can easily meet with your retirement goals.

Benefits and Features:

• This plan provides guaranteed vesting benefits with additional market gains.
• The minimum age to get this plan is 18 years and the minimum maturity age is 45 years.
• The loyalty additions start from the 11th policy year and are provided in every alternate year.
• This one of the top pension plans offers a single and limited pay option.
• The plan also provides tax benefits under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• The plan as well provides the death benefits to your beneficiary. The death benefit can be higher of 105% of the premiums paid till then or policy’s fund value.

 

6. Reliance - Smart Pension:

This is a non-participating Unit Linked Best Pension Plan that enables you to save your money in a systematic manner so that you can build a lump sum amount in a systematic way. In this way, this plan enables you to get a regular income after your retirement.

Benefits and Features:

• The term of this policy ranges from 10 years to 30 years.
• This top pension plan ensures you to provide guaranteed loyalty additions.
• With this plan, you become eligible to get double benefits of equity and capital guarantee.
• The minimum vesting age of this plan is 45 years whereas the maximum vesting age is 75 years.
• The plan also provides income tax benefits under section 80C and 10A of the Income Tax Act.

 

7. ICICI Pru Easy Retirement:

This is the best pension plan in the equity category which enables you to get a regular income after retirement by investing your money in equity. The good long term returns generated by this plan offer protection against the volatility of the market.

Benefits and Features:

• You can select monthly, yearly, or half-yearly premium payment mode.
• The minimum premium that you can pay for this plan is Rs.48, 000/ year without any minimum limit.
• The minimum entry age for this plan is 18 years and maximum age is 70 years.
• The term of the policy may range from 10 years to 30 years.
• The minimum vesting age for this plan is 45 years and the maximum is 80 years.
• The plan also offers tax benefits.

 

8. Bajaj Allianz Pension Plan Guarantee:

This one of the top pension plans assures guaranteed regular income to you after your retirement. The plan also offers a range of immediate annuity to you as well.

Benefits and Features:

• Under this plan, you get six annuity options to choose from.
• The plan also provides the option to extend annuity to your spouse.
• The minimum entry age for this plan is 37 years and the maximum age is 80 years.
• Minimum price to purchase this plan is Rs.25, 000 without any maximum limit.
• The minimum installment for an annuity is Rs.1, 000.

 

9. Aditya Birla Sun life Empower Pension Plan Plan

This is a unit-linked non-participating pension plan, which helps the policyholder to do savings so that they can create a financial corpus for post-retirement. As it is a unit-linked insurance policy, a part of the premium is invested towards market securities like equity and debt to create high returns on investment. The following are some of the salient features of the policy.

Benefits and Features:

• The entry age of the policy ranges from a minimum of 25 years to a maximum of 70 years.
• As it is a deferred annuity plan, the accumulation period of the policy ranges from a minimum of 5 years to a maximum of 30 years.
• The maximum vesting age of the policy is 80 years.
• The policy offers regular pay premium paying options.
• The policy is offered in two different variants i.e.
• Assured Option- The insured enjoys a guaranteed benefit on vesting
• Self-managed option- the insured has the option to choose from various funds as per their risk appetite, with the fund value of the policy payable on vesting.
• Along with the benefit of investment returns, the plan also provides insurance coverage to the family of the insured.
• Tax benefits can be availed under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.

 

10. Max Life Guaranteed Lifetime Income Pension Plan:

This plan is a traditional non-linked annuity plan that ensures to provide you a regular income post your retirement. The plan is considered as one of the best pension plans in India and a lucrative option of investment.

 

Benefits and Features:

• This top pension plan gives pension until your spouse and you are alive.
• You can receive a pension on a quarterly basis, monthly basis, yearly basis, or half-yearly basis.
• Your nominee gets the purchase price of the policy after your death.
• You can choose from four annuity options.
• You can also select the one-time lump-sum payment option for purchasing the plan.

 

11. Max Life Forever Young Pension Plan:

This is a unit-linked non-participating pension plan, which helps the policyholder to accumulate funds for the retirement years while protecting themselves from the ups and downs of the equity market. The policy also offers additional annuity plan benefit to provide financial security to the family of the insured against any type of unforeseen event. The plan helps the insured to create large financial corpus so that they can achieve their retirement goals and live a stress-free life after retirement. Let’s take a look at the features of the policy.

Benefits and Features:

• The plan offers an opportunity to create a retirement corpus by investing in market-linked securities
• The insured can choose the retirement age when they will start receiving the annuity benefits as per their future goals.
• With the add-on rider benefit of Partner Care, the insured can secure their spouse's financial future.
• The minimum entry age offered by the policy is 30 years, whereas the maximum entry of the policy is 65 years.
• The policy offers a maximum vesting age of 75 years.
• The plan offers 2 fund options to choose from.
• In the event of the unfortunate demise of the insured person, the death benefit is offered to the beneficiary of the policy as higher of the fund value or 105% of the total premium paid including the top-up premium.

 

12. Bajaj Allianz Retire Rich Pension Plan:

This is a unit-linked pension plan that helps the policyholder to invest and secure their life post-retirement life goals. As one of the best pension plans, Bajaj Allianz Retire Rich Pension Plan helps an individual to create a financial cushion and high return on investments by investing in market-linked securities.

Benefits and Features:

• The plan offers the option to choose from multiple premium paying tenure.
• A guaranteed vesting benefit of 101% of the total premium paid or the fund value whichever is higher is paid to the insured at the end of the policy tenure.
• The investment objective of this pension plan is to generate capital growth by investing in a mix of debt and equities.
• The plan provides the option to enhance the accumulated corpus through top-up premiums in the later years.
• The plan offers the option to take death benefits in installments.
• The plan offers a minimum entry age of 30 years, whereas the maximum entry age of the policy is 73 years.
• The vesting age of the policy ranges from a minimum of 37 years to a maximum of 80 years.

 

13. Reliance Immediate Annuity Pension Plan:

If you are looking for the best pension plan in India to gain immediate annuity, then you can consider investing in this plan. This is a non-participating non-linked immediate annuity plan, which helps to convert accumulated corpus into a regular income for life.

Benefits and Features:

• The plan offers a minimum entry age of 20 years, whereas the maximum entry age of the policy is 80 years.
• The minimum purchase price of the policy is Rs.1 lakh (excluding goods and service tax and cess, if any). There is no maximum limit of purchase price offered by the policy.
• The minimum amount of annuity installments that can be made is Rs,1000, there is no limit on the maximum amount of annuity installments.
• The annuity can be paid out in annually, monthly, half-yearly or quarterly mode.
• The insured can choose from 3 different annuity pay-out options i.e.
  • Life annuity
  • Life annuity with return of purchase price
  • Life Annuity guaranteed for 5 years, 10 years, 15 years and payable for life thereafter.

Summit It Up!

These are some of the top pension plans available in India; you can select one as per your requirements to safeguard your future. This is because being financially independent is one of the biggest blessings that you can have while you are at your golden age i.e. your post-retirement life. So, do not hesitate to select a pension policy, purchase one and secure your future.