LIC Nivesh Plus Plan
LIC Nivesh Plus is a Single Premium unit linked plan which offers potential to grow your money and offers life cover also. Being a unit linked plan, it offers growth potential if invested over a long period of time. The performance of the funds you invest the money in will determine the overall returns of your investment. This plan also has tax savings built into it. We will understand this plan in detail.
| Launch Date | Policy Type | UIN |
| 02-Mar-2020 | ULIP | 512L317V01 |
Benefits
At the end of the policy term you will get the Fund Value in the policy. Just as an example, if you hold 1,000 units with an NAV of Rs. 53.26, the Fund Value will be 10,000 x 53.26 = Rs. 53,260. You have the option of withdrawing your money over a period of maximum 5 years - details of this are mentioned under the Settlement Option which is explained below.
You can choose to take the maturity amount over a period not exceeding 5 years. For example, if you choose 5 years as the Settlement period, the units you hold at maturity will be divided by 5 and each year you will get ⅕ of the Units. The existing units will continue to be invested in your funds and the Fund Management Charge would apply. There will be no risk cover during this period. Also no switching or partial withdrawal will be allowed during this period.
- On death after the Risk Commencement Date
- In case of the death of the policyholder, the nominee will get the highest of the following:
- Fund Value
- Basic Sum Assured less any partial withdrawals made during the 2 year period immediately preceding the the date of death
- On death before the Risk Commencement Date - In case of the death of the policyholder, the nominee will get the Fund Value.
- In case Life Assured is less than 8 years of age - the risk under this plan will commence either on the completion of 2 years from the date of commencement of the policy or on policy anniversary coinciding with or immediately following the completion of 8 years of age, whichever is earlier.
- In case Life Assured is more than 8 years of age - the risk commences immediately
LIC will pay amounts which will be used to purchase Units and added to your account. The Guaranteed Additions will be as a % of your Annalised Premium and will be allocated as follows:
| End of policy year | Guaranteed Additions |
| 6 | 3% |
| 10 | 4% |
| 15 | 5% |
| 20 | 6% |
| 25 | 7% |
It means that if you are paying Annual Premium of Rs. 50,000 in the plan, after the 6th year Rs. 2,500 worth of units will be credited to your account. Your total additions will look like this…
| End of policy year | Guaranteed Additions |
| 6 | Rs. 3,000 |
| 10 | Rs. 4,000 |
| 15 | Rs. 5,000 |
| 20 | Rs. 6,000 |
| 25 | Rs. 7,000 |
You can make an extra payment and add this rider to your plan. In case of death due to an accident, your nominee will receive the rider benefit also in addition to the base benefit of the plan.
You can make a partial withdrawal of your funds at any time after the completion of 5 policy years. You should have attained the age of 18 years though to make partial withdrawals. The amount you can withdraw will be determined as follows:
| Policy Year | Fund Value |
| 6th to 10th | 15% |
| 11th to 15th | 20% |
| 16th to 20th | 25% |
| 21st to 25th | 30% |
After making the partial withdrawals, an amount equal to the single premium paid initially should remain in your account. Once you make a partial withdrawal, the Basic Sum Assured of the plan shall be reduced to the extent of partial withdrawals made, for 2 years. After the 2 year period, the Basic Sum Assured will be restored.
You can move your accumulated funds to another fund at any point of time.
There are the following 2 scenarios:
- You stop paying the premiums before completion of 5 policy years - After the grace period of paying premiums gets over, the Fund Value at that time will move to the Discontinued Policy Fund. Your risk cover also ceases. Here you would earn an interest rate of a minimum 4% (this is as per the current regulations). A Fund Management Charge of 0.5% would apply and there would be no other charges. After 5 policy years, the funds will be paid to the policyholder.
- You stop paying the premiums after completion of 5 policy years - After the grace period of paying premiums gets over, you have the following options:
- Withdraw your money and close the policy
- Convert the policy to paid-up and continue with a reduced sum assured. Your investments can be withdrawn anytime later
- Revive the policy by paying the due premiums and continue with the plan. This has to be done within 2 years of date of discontinuance.
Loan - No loans are available in this plan.
Surrender - You can surrender your plan anytime after 5 policy years and receive the Fund Value. In case you surrender before 5 years, the funds will move to the Discontinued Fund and you can withdraw after 5 years - you will have to pay Dis-continuation Charges also.
Grace period - You have a grace period of 15 days for the monthly payment mode and 30 days for other modes of premium payment.
Tax Benefits - The premiums paid are exempted from tax under Sec 80C. Please bear in mind that the annual premium should not be greater than 10% of the cover amount for this exemption to be applicable. The Maturity and Death Benefits are tax exempt under Sec 80D.
Variants
Important - The returns in your plan will depend on your choice of funds. So it is very important to choose them wisely. If you choose a Low Risk fund, the chances of returns will not be very high. Since you have to stay invested for 5 years or more it may make sense to go a bit aggressive on the type of fund as the chances of better returns will be higher. These funds are managed by experienced fund managers of LIC.
| Fund Name | Fund Composition | Risk Profile | ||
| Government / Government Guaranteed Securities / Corporate Debt | Short Term Investments such as Money Market Instruments | Listed Equity Shares | ||
| Growth | 20% to 60% | 0% to 40% | 40% to 80% | High |
| Balanced | 30% to 70% | 0% to 40% | 30% to 70% | Medium |
| Secured | 45% to 85% | 0% to 40% | 15% to 55% | Low-Medium |
| Bond Fund | 0% to 60% | 0% to 40% | Nil | Low |
How it works
LIC Nivesh Plus is a single premium plan. So you need to pay a lumpsum amount which is invested in the funds of your choice. You then select the term of the policy between 10 to 25 years. You can choose between 2 Options for the amount of cover which you want. The amount of cover will determine if you will get tax benefits in this plan - so be careful while choosing the Option (it cannot be changed later). The money which you pay is invested in the funds of your choice - you have 4 funds to choose from. Based on the amount you invest and the choice of funds, you will be allocated Units of these funds. The value of these funds depends on the NAV which are declared on a daily basis. So you can keep track of your investment and performance from Day 1. You will be provided with some Guaranteed Additions also which we will explain further below.
Note - In this plan, you have to stay invested for at least 5 years. You CANNOT withdraw your investment before 5 years.
Eligibility
| Criteria | Minimum | Maximum |
| Basic Sum Assured | Option1* 1.25 times Single Premium Option 2 - 10 times Single Premium |
|
| Age at Entry | 90 days | 70 years - Option1 35 years - Option2 |
| Age at Maturity | 18 years | 85 years - Option1 50 years - Option2 |
| Policy Term Option 1 Option 2 (Entry Age upto 25) Option 2 (Entry Age 26-30) Option 2 (Entry Age 31-35) |
10 years 10 years 10 years 10 years |
25 years 25 years 20 years 10 years |
| Premiums | Rs. 1,00,000 | No limit |
That pretty much explains how LIC’s Nivesh Plus Plan works and the benefits you get out of it. If you have any questions on this plan, drop in a line in the comments and we will be happy to help out.
Exclusions
Premium Allocation Charge - The premiums paid by you are used to purchase units of the Funds only after this charge is deducted. The Premium Allocation Charge in LIC Nivesh Plus Plan is as follows:
| Offline Sale | Online Sale |
| 3.30% | 1.50% |
For example, if you have purchased this plan through an offline mode and are investing Rs. 1,00,000 then 3.3% of this will be deducted before your funds are used to purchase any units. So Rs. 96,700 will be used to purchase units in the first year after LIC deducts Rs. 3,300 as Premium Allocation Charge..
Mortality Charge - This will depend on your age and the amount of cover. This is basically the cost of providing you the life cover. This charge is deducted every month by reducing the number of Units which you hold. Every month 1/12 of the Annual Mortality Charge will be deducted by reducing the number of Units.
The charge depends on the Sum at Risk, which is defined the difference between the Basic Sum Assured and the Fund Value on the date of deduction of this charge. The charge will be deducted only if the Basic Sum Assured is greater than your Fund Value. Sample mortality charges are as follows:
| Age | 25 | 35 | 45 | 50 |
| Charge (Rs.) | 1.23 | 1.60 | 3.59 | 6.18 |
The charge mentioned here is for Rs. 1000/- of basic sum assured.
Fund Management Charge (FMC) - 1.35% per annum of the Fund Value, charged daily. This is charged by reducing the NAV of the funds. The NAV thus declared, will be net off the FMC. For the discontinued policies, it will be 0.5% per annum of the Unit Fund.
Accident Benefit Charge - This is deducted only if you have taken the LIC’s Linked Accidental Death Benefit Rider. It will be charged at the beginning of each month by deducting units you hold. This shall be at the rate of 0.4 per 1,000 of the Accidental Benefit Sum Assured. In case the policyholder is a policeman or part of the paramilitary forces, this charge will be 0.8 per 1,000.
Switching Charge - You can make upto 4 free switches in every policy year. For every switch after the 4 free ones, a charge of Rs. 100 will be deducted. This charge is deducted by reducing the number of units you hold.
Partial Withdrawal Charge - For every partial withdrawal, a charge of Rs. 100 will be deducted. This charge is deducted by reducing the number of units you hold.
Dis-continuation Charge - This charge will be applied if you write to LIC that you wish to surrender the policy.
| Year of Discontinuation | AP upto Rs. 3,00,000 | AP > Rs. 3,00,000 |
| 1 | Lower of 2% of (AP or FV); Max Rs. 3,000 |
Lower of 1% of (AP or FV); Max Rs. 6,000 |
| 2 | Lower of 1.5% of (AP or FV); Max Rs. 2,000 |
Lower of 0.7% of (AP or FV); Max Rs. 5,000 |
| 3 | Lower of 1% of (AP or FV); Max Rs. 1,500 |
Lower of 0.5% of (AP or FV); Max Rs. 4,000 |
| 4 | Lower of 0.5% of (AP or FV); Max Rs. 1,000 |
Lower of 0.35% of (AP or FV); Max Rs. 2,000 |
| 5+ | NIL | NIL |
AP - Annualised Premium
FV - Fund Value
The above charge will be deducted by cancelling the units which you hold. As you can see, you will have to pay substantial amounts in case you are unable to stay invested for 5 years. So make sure you can easily pay the premiums at least for 5 continuous years from the time of purchase.
Note: Please keep in mind that your money will be locked-in for 5 years anyway and there is no way to withdraw your money. Since this is a single premium plan and you have already paid the premium, it is best not to put in a surrender request and have these charges deducted. Wait for 5 years (for the lock-in period) to get over and then surrender the plan in case you need the money. In such a case the Discontinuation Charges would be NIL.
Tax Charge - Based on the tax rates and applicability, this will be on the charges which are applicable in this plan. This would be achieved by deducting units you hold.
