Skip to main content

PF Interest Rate and NPS Returns

Invest NPS  Online
 
MOST NPS INVESTORS EARNED double-digit returns in the past 3-5 years; central and state govt employees covered by the scheme earned between 9.3% and 10.15%
 
If the 5 basis point hike in interest rate of the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) made subscribers smile, those covered by the New Pension System (NPS) must be laughing. Most NPS investors earned double-digit returns in the past 3-5 years. Central and state government employees covered by the scheme earned between 9.3% and 10.15% during this period.

The performance of individual schemes is not very helpful because NPS investors put money in a combination of funds. Therefore, Economic Times studied the blended returns of four different combinations of the equity , corporate debt and gilt funds. Ultra-safe investors are assumed to have put 60% in gilt funds, 40% in corporate bond funds and nothing in equity funds. A conservative investor would put 20% in stocks, 30% in corporate bonds and 50% in gilts. A balanced allocation would put 33.3% in each of the three classes of funds while an aggressive investor would invest the maximum 50% in the equity fund, 30% in corporate bonds and 20% in gilts. The table shows the average blended returns of the seven pension funds.

 

Admittedly , the short-term picture of the NPS is not very encouraging because of the negative returns from stocks in the past one year. Aggressive investors have earned less than 3% and balanced investors made only 4.93%, though ultra-safe investors who stayed away from stocks got 8.89%.

But the long-term picture is different. On average, gilt funds have given 9.75% annualised returns while corporate debt funds have churned out more than 11% in the past five years. As a result, the average return for ultra-safe investors in the past five years is in double digits. The average NPS fund has given 100-125 basis points more than what the retirement savings of the estimated 3.7 crore EPF subscribers have earned during this period. Even a 100 basis point higher return can make large impact on the corpus in the long term.

Will the good times continue for gilt funds and corporate bond funds?


Experts say this trend will not stay forever. NPS is a long-term investment and the bonds are predominantly held to maturity . Over a longer period, the portfolios will deliver returns similar to the yield-to-maturity of the bonds in the portfolios. The average yield-to-maturity of the bonds is roughly 8.4%, which is higher than the PPF rate but lower than what the EPF offers.

Should you switch from EPF to NPS?

This raises the critical question: should you switch from EPF to the pension scheme? The proposal to switch from EPF to NPS was announced in last year's budget and this year's budget extended a onetime tax exemption to such a shift.A le gislation to amend the Employees' Provident Fund & Miscellaneous Provisions Act has already been framed and is lying with the Law Ministry . The amendment allows EPF subscribers to make a one-time switch to the NPS. Once he shifts to NPS, the employee will have a one-time chance to return to the EPF fold.

But experts believe it may not be a wise move to shift your retirement savings to the NPS because of the difference in tax treatment. While the EPF corpus is completely tax free, this year's budget has proposed to make 40% of the NPS tax free. Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) chairman Hemant Contractor says there should be tax parity in all retirement products. Why would anybody want to shift his money from the fully tax-free EPF to the NPS where only 40% of the corpus will escape tax? If there is parity in the tax treatment, a lot of subscribers would shift from EPF to NPS," .

For investors, the tax benefits are an important consideration. The new tax deduction offered on the NPS attracted investors in a big way in 2014-15, with almost 1.2 lakh new voluntary accounts opened during the year. Within nine months, the assets under management of funds for the private sector shot up more than three-fold from Rs 6,361 crore in April 2015 to touch Rs 20,261 crore by December 31, 2015.

Financial advisors see another problem in the NPS. At least 40% of the maturity corpus has to be put in an annuity to earn a monthly pension. Annuity rates in India are very low compared to what other options can offer. The Senior Citizens' Saving Scheme, for instance, gives 8.6% returns compared to 6.75% offered by annuities that return the principal after death. The PFRDA wants that the investor should be allowed to look beyond annuities.

-----------------------------------------------
Invest Rs 1,50,000 and Save Tax under Section 80C. Get Great Returns by Investing in Best Performing ELSS Mutual Funds

Top 10 Tax Saver Mutual Funds to invest in India for 2016

Best 10 ELSS Mutual Funds in india for 2016

1. BNP Paribas Long Term Equity Fund

2. Axis Tax Saver Fund

3. Franklin India TaxShield

4. ICICI Prudential Long Term Equity Fund

5. IDFC Tax Advantage (ELSS) Fund

6. Birla Sun Life Tax Relief 96

7. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund

8. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund

9. Religare Tax Plan

10. Birla Sun Life Tax Plan

Invest in Best Performing 2016 Tax Saver Mutual Funds Online

Invest Online

Download Application Forms

For further information contact Prajna Capital on 94 8300 8300 by leaving a missed call

---------------------------------------------

Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them

OR

You can write to us at

PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot] Com

OR

Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300

-----------------------------------------------

Popular posts from this blog

Am you Required to E-file Tax Return?

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Buy Gold Mutual Funds Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300   Am I Required to 'E-file' My Return? Yes, under the law you are required to e-file your return if your income for the year is Rs. 500,000 or more. Even if you are not required to e-file your return, it is advisable to do so for the following benefits: i) E-filing is environment friendly. ii) E-filing ensures certain validations before the return is filed. Therefore, e-returns are more accurate than the paper returns. iii) E-returns are processed faster than the paper returns. iv) E-filing can be done from the comfort of home/office and you do not have to stand in queue to e-file. v) E-returns can be accessed anytime from the tax department's e-filing portal. For further information contact Prajna Capit...

IDFC - Long term infrastructure bonds - Tranche 2

IDFC - Long term infrastructure bonds What are infrastructure bonds? In 2010, the government introduced a new section 80CCF under the Income Tax Act, 1961 (" Income Tax Act ") to provide for income tax deductions for subscription to long-term infrastructure bonds and pursuant to that the Central Board of Direct Taxes passed Notification No. 48/2010/F.No.149/84/2010-SO(TPL) dated July 9, 2010. These long term infrastructure bonds offer an additional window of tax deduction of investments up to Rs. 20,000 for the financial year 2010-11. This deduction is over and above the Rs 1 lakh deduction available under sections 80C, 80CCC and 80CCD read with section 80CCE of the Income Tax Act. Infrastructure bonds help in intermediating the retail investor's savings into infrastructure sector directly. Long term infrastructure Bonds by IDFC IDFC issued an earlier tranche of these long term infrastructure bonds on November 12, 2010. This is the second public issue of long-te...

Section 80CCD

Top SIP Funds Online   Income tax deduction under section 80CCD Under Income Tax, TaxPayers have the benefit of claiming several deductions. Out of the deduction avenues, Section 80CCD provides t axpayer deductions against investments made in specific sector s. Under Section 80CCD, an assessee is eligible to claim deductions against the contributions made to the National Pension Scheme or Atal Pension Yojana. Contributions made by an employer to National Pension Scheme are also eligible for deductions under the provisions of Section 80 CCD. In this article, we will take a look at the primary features of this section, the terms and conditions for claiming deductions, the eligibility to claim such deductions, and some of the commonly asked questions in this regard. There are two parts of Section 80CCD. Subsection 1 of this section refers to tax deductions for all assesses who are central government or state government employees, or self-employed or employed by any other employers. In...

ULIP Review: ProGrowth Super II

  If you are interested in a death cover that's just big enough, HDFC SL ProGrowth Super II is something worth a try. The beauty is it has something for everybody — you name the risk profile, the category is right up there. But do a SWOT analysis of the basket, and the gloss fades     HDFC SL ProGrowth Super II is a type-II unit-linked insurance plan ( ULIP ). Launched in September 2010, this is a small ticket-size scheme with multiple rider options and adequate death cover. It offers five investment options (funds) — one in each category of large-cap equity, mid-cap equity, balanced, debt and money market fund. COST STRUCTURE: ProGrowth Super II is reasonably priced, with the premium allocation charge lower than most others in the category. However, the scheme's mortality charge is almost 60% that of LIC mortality table for those investing early in life. This charge reduces with age. BENEFITS: Investors can choose a sum assured between 10-40 times the annualised premium...

Bharat Bond ETF

Top SIP Funds Online   The government of India has paved the way for the launch of India's first corporate bond ETF called as Bharat Bond ETF. Edelweiss Mutual Fund will be managing it. The fund is mandated to invest in AAA-rated bonds of select public sector companies (see the table 'List of constituents and their proportions in the portfolio'). The government has a threefold objective behind launching this product. One, to deepen the liquidity of the Indian debt markets and provide a gateway for easy retail participation. Two, to solve investors' dilemma of picking premium bonds. Lastly, to help the underlying government-owned companies raise funding for their operations. But does it make sense for you, the investor, to invest in it? Lets find out. What is the product? As the name suggests, it is an exchange-traded fund which will be listed on a stock exchange from where its units can be bought and sold post launch. It will have two variants - one maturing in 3 ye...
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds Download Any Applications
Transact Mutual Funds Online Invest Online
Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Now