NPS is a low-cost retirement corpus accumulation tool offering flexibility in choosing pension fund managers and tax advantages.
Investing in NPS early allows individuals to benefit from the power of compounding and significantly impact their final corpus.
NPS offers two choices - auto choice for automatic allocation and rebalancing, and active choice for personalized asset allocation.
Deep dives
Overview of NPS
The National Pension System (NPS) is a government-promoted retirement corpus accumulation tool, started in 2004, which offers a low-cost actively managed fund. It provides flexibility for non-government employees to choose from 10 pension fund managers. NPS is a retirement product that every individual should consider as part of their portfolio due to its low cost and potential for creating a significant corpus.
Key Reasons to Invest in NPS
There are five key reasons to consider investing in NPS. Firstly, it is the cheapest actively managed fund available, with costs ranging from three to nine basis points. Secondly, it offers tax advantages, including additional deductions up to 50,000 rupees under Section 80CCD(1B). Thirdly, NPS provides flexibility in terms of switching fund managers, asset classes, and active management. Fourthly, the performance of pension fund managers is closely monitored by regulators and trustees, ensuring transparency and accountability. Finally, NPS offers a strong pedigree of pension fund managers and is a well-regulated retirement accumulation product.
Importance of NPS for Retirement Planning
NPS is a compelling retirement accumulation product that offers the auto choice option for passive investment and automatic rebalancing, ensuring risk management along the journey. It is designed to address the challenges of investor behavior and deliver investor returns equal to investment returns. Furthermore, individuals should start investing in NPS as early as possible to benefit from the power of compounding over time, as the difference in the final corpus can be substantial with each year of delay.
Exploring the Auto and Active Choice Options
The NPS offers two choices: the auto choice and active choice. The auto choice option provides automatic asset allocation and rebalancing between equity, corporate bonds, and government securities. As individuals get closer to retirement, the equity allocation reduces, minimizing volatility. Alternatively, the active choice option allows individuals to choose their asset allocation, including up to 75% in equities and make changes four times per year. Both options offer transparency, market-linked performance, and flexibility.
Benefits of NPS Tier 2 Account
The NPS also offers a Tier 2 account, which serves as a low-cost actively managed alternative to mutual funds. In Tier 2, individuals can invest in a combination of equity, corporate bonds, and government securities and enjoy full liquidity. There is a unique option to move money from Tier 2 to Tier 1 once in a lifetime, enabling individuals to consolidate their retirement corpus and access tax advantages.
On this episode of Paisa Vaisa Podcast, Anupam sits down with Sriram Iyer, CEO at HDFC Pension Management Company, to navigate National Pension System (NPS). They dive deep into understanding the basics of NPS, fund structure and investment options, Tax Benefits associated with NPS and how to optimize savings through strategic tax planning. This and much more on this episode of #PaisaVaisa !