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]]>ULIP is a financial vehicle that is both an insurance and investment portfolio. It is considered to be a good financial instrument that can help accumulate funds for children’s higher education and retirement planning.
ULIP is an abbreviation of Unit Linked Insurance Plan. It is a multi-faceted life insurance product. It is a life insurance and investment combination. A policyholder needs to make regular premium payments just like any other insurance plan. A part premium is utilized to provide life insurance coverage and the rest is pooled with the assets accumulated from other policyholders. This pooled amount is invested in financial instruments such as equity and debt just like mutual funds. ULIP provides you with financial security against emergencies and grows your money as well.
ULIP needs you to make small investments and get larger returns as your small fractions of money grow into a lump sum. This is the magic of compounding. There are ULIPs designed just to cater to your child’s education. As per your requirements, you can withdraw the amount partially. ULIP comes with tax benefits as an added advantage.
You are allowed to invest in Child ULIP plans only when you fulfill the criteria of minimum and maximum requirements for age. Each policy specifies the age range for the investor which must fall in the range at the policy’s maturity.
A proposal or application for insurance.
Age proof
KYC documents like – Identity proof, address proof, etc.
Other Documents
the amount of coverage applied
the premium that you will be paying
your profile, your lifestyle, habits, family history, etc.
Nowadays, parenting is not easy and it comes with huge responsibilities. Financial management is one big task as you need to secure your child’s future. Child ULIP helps you with this as it has several benefits like life insurance, building corpus, death cover, and others. On the demise of the parent or guardian, your future premiums are waived off and the insurance company continues to invest this money on your behalf.
the assured sum goes to the parent or guardian
on the demise of the parent or guardian, the assured sum is handed over to the child
Portfolio switching between debt and equity is also possible in ULIPs. Partially withdrawals are allowed before maturity but you will lose a portion of your returns. They have a lock-in period of 5 years from the starting date of the ULIP. After this period, the policy can be surrendered and expenses like stamp duty, maintaining, and issuing the policy will be deducted by the insurance company.
Human life expectancy is increasing with advancing medical science and so is the non-earning period of an individual’s life. So everyone needs to plan for their retirement. ULIP is designed for goal-based planning and investment can be done accordingly. ULIP plans can be brought to fulfill specific financial goals. The lock-in period makes investors disciplined and encourages investors to systematically creation of wealth for the desired financial goals.
ULIP allows an investor to switch between debt and equity funds. This can be done based on an investor’s risk appetite. Based on the extent of risk the investor can take in the market and his/her long-term financial goals, investments can be made in debt or equity funds or a combination of both. Experts advise for a long-term investment period, investors can take more risks at the start by investing in an equity fund, and then switch to debt funds when nearing maturity. This way of managing the portfolio is known as ‘Years to Maturity’ based portfolio management. This way you can build a good corpus for both the child’s future (education, marriage, healthcare) and your retirement.
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]]>What is ULIP?
A ULIP (Unit-linked Insurance Plan) is a market-linked insurance product. It provides the benefit of life insurance and at the same time its an investment. A ULIPs requires the policyholder to make regular premium payments of which part payments are utilized to provide insurance coverage. The unutilized payments are pooled with the funds from other policyholders and invested in financial securities i.e. equity and debt. Therefore, life insurance under ULIP can help you build a corpus for future financial requirements like retirement, a child’s education, and a wedding.
How does a ULIP work?
A ULIP pools money from different policyholders to create a fund. A dedicated fund manager then chooses a specific investment option as per his/her investment plan. The investment options considered for a ULIP are equity mutual funds, debt mutual funds, or hybrid mutual funds. The investor/ policyholder can choose between different ULIPs based on the fund manager’s investment plan. ULIPs offer an advantage to the investors in terms of switching the fund preference as per their needs in the investment duration.
Let us understand this with examples. Supposedly, you have diverse sources of income like a regular job and rent from properties. Now, you are ready to take risks and experience market-linked investment. In this case, you can opt for hybrid funds as an investment option under a ULIP. However, for some reason like the COVID pandemic, your rental income has been compromised. In such a scenario, you can opt for less risky funds like debt funds under a ULIP.
What are the features of a ULIP?
Lock-in period: ULIPs have a fixed lock-in period of 5 years. However, it is best to stay invested for the complete period of the plan (10-15 years). This ensures that you gain good returns.
Partial withdrawal: Partial withdrawal is possible during the lock-in period. You can surrender the policy while in the lock-in period but the amount will be received at the end of the lock-in period. Some insurance companies allow partial withdrawal during the lock-in period but only a fixed percentage can be withdrawn.
Payment: On purchase of a ULIP, you require to make an initial lump sum payment. Further, the premium is paid yearly, semi-yearly, or monthly depending on the plan.
Flexibility: ULIPs offers the flexibility to switch your fund preference. Also, it allows you to invest additional premium along with regular premium.
Taxation: Like PPF, ULIPs came under the EEE category but this has changed in the recent budget. From 1 February 2021, if your premium or aggregate premiums for ULIPs exceed Rs.2.5 lakhs then capital gains tax will apply. For the policy held up until 1 year, a short-term capital gains tax of 15% will apply. Long-term capital gains tax of 10% will apply for policies held for more than 1 year. Additionally, upon maturity or surrender of equity-linked ULIP fund to the insurance company, a security transaction tax will also apply. There is no tax deduction from the amount paid to the nominee in the case of the death of the insured person.
What are the charges of a ULIP?
There are different types of charges for a ULIP that are deducted from your premium. It includes administrative charges, fund management, surrender charges, partial withdrawal, etc. The charges depend upon the insurance company. However, as per the guidelines of IRDAI, the insurance company distributes the charges evenly over the lock-in period. This ensures that the insured does not bear the burden of high charges at the beginning of the policy.
When and if you decide to invest in a ULIP, reap the maximum benefit by keeping a medium to high investment horizon and using the flexibility of switching the fund preference according to your requirement.
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