We review the new LIC Amritbaal insurance cum investment plan so that parents are aware that the plan is not good for most people. We will also show what to do instead for your kid’s goals.
We review the new LIC Amritbaal insurance cum investment plan so that parents are aware that the plan is not good for most people. We will also show what to do instead for your kid’s goals.
We will discuss this point in detail in this article.
It facilitates accumulation of corpus through Guaranteed Addition
This is the hook that brings in parents. The brochure says “Guaranteed Addition ₹80 per thousand Basic Sum Assured throughout the Policy Term” and many people interpret this as an 8% return. We will explain how this calculation works and how the return, though guaranteed, is not 8%.
Breaking down the plan options
Who pays the premium?
The parent takes the policy and pays the premium.
Whose life is insured?
This policy ignores the risk of the earning parents dying and not leaving behind enough money for the child. Instead of insuring the more likely risk of the premature death of the parent,
this policy pays out money if the child dies.
This is absurd.
The insurance is taken on the life kid who is not yet 13 at the time of buying the policy. This will be harsh but it should be obvious that the target market for this plan is people who plan to financially benefit from their own child’s death.
Most people should give up on considering this plan and jump to the alternatives section by clicking the link below:
Entry age (of the child): The policy is bought for a child from birth up to age 13
Maturity age (of the child): From 18 to 25
Premium payment can be 1-time or for the first few years (limited time)
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Returns offered (IRR) of the plan
No, it is not 8%. That will be remarkable and it is very clearly not so. The plan offers ₹80 per 1000 of the sum assured (8%) as a guaranteed addition. But this amount is paid at the end. It is not paid every year and therefore does not compound.
a return component which is handily beaten, without any risk and with a full government guarantee, by PPF (7.1% tax-free) or Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (for girl children, currently offering 8.2%, also tax-free)
Of course, investors willing to take a bit more risk, which they should to beat educational inflation (7-10%), have the option of investing in equity and debt markets via mutual funds.
Who should invest in this plan?
A parent may invest in this plan if they fulfil all of the conditions below:
their minor child (age 13 or less) has income from salary (unlikely) or other sources (for example sponsorships or stipends)
this income is used to run the household expenses
the family will be in financial distress if the child stops earning money
Other parents should avoid this plan and follow the alternative planning method below.
What are the alternatives to investing in this plan?
Step 1: Identify your child’s goals
Your child’s school and other regular expenses will come from monthly income. But you need to plan for bigger expenses in advance:
The whole family, i.e. child and parents should also have sufficient health insurance. This step prevents loss of income or a setback to investment goals due to illness.
Step 3: Make an investment plan to cover your child
Children’s education and other goals do not exist in isolation. They are a part of the comprehensive goal-based planning that parents need to do for their own retirement and everything else. The process is explained best with these examples:
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This article shows how a very typical salaried couple with one child can invest for future goals using the Arthgyaan goal-based investing tool.
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This post titled Why LIC Amritbaal policy is a complete wastage of money: how to invest for your child in the right way first appeared on 22 Feb 2024 at https://arthgyaan.com