MUMBAI:
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has registered a growth of 120% year-on-year in FY2021 in retirement products as the impact of the pandemic on lives and livelihoods has put the importance of financial planning in the spotlight.
Covid-19 has served to remind people that financial health is as vital as physical and mental wellbeing, given the costs involved in medical treatment. As a result there is a growing trend among people choosing to be financially secure, especially after retirement. Keeping in mind the needs of consumers who are planning their retirement, ICICI Prudential Life has come out with an innovative retirement solution – ICICI Pru Guaranteed Pension Plan – which provides a guaranteed regular income, enabling individuals to lead a financially self- sufficient retired life. This product makes retirement planning easy and offers individuals the flexibility to choose the frequency at which they wish to receive regular income i.e. monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly. Importantly, the regular income continues throughout the life of the policyholder and is not affected by market fluctuations.
The biggest worry retired individuals have is the rising cost of living and medical expenses. To address this issue, ICICI Prudential Life has developed an innovative retirement solution which offers increasing income. The regular income doubles after the fifth year and triples after the eleventh year. Individuals can purchase this product easily by making a one-time premium payment which is returned to the nominee upon the demise of the policyholder. The Company’s retirement planning products are most popular amongst individuals in the age group of 50 years and above.
ICICI Prudential Life’s, Chief Distribution Officer, Amit Palta said, “We are delighted to see the consumer response to the ICICI Pru Guaranteed Pension Plan’s innovative retirement solutions, which offer guaranteed lifelong income. The fact that it can be customised to receive income which doubles after the fifth year and triples after the eleventh year can take care of the rising inflation and medical expenses, making it very attractive for consumers planning their retirement. This customer-centric product offers industry-first features and has been voted ‘Product of the Year – Retirement and Pension Plans’ in FY2021. This product has been very well accepted by customers enabling us to grow our annuity business segment by 120% year- on-year in FY2021. Specifically, Kerala is an important market and is one of the top 10 states for us in terms of overall business contribution.”
At the time of purchase, individuals can choose to receive regular income immediately or choose a future date to start receiving income, depending on their needs. By combining the immediate and deferred annuity options of the product, consumers can receive increasing income. In Immediate Annuity, customers start receiving guaranteed regular income immediately upon making a one-time payment. It is ideally suited for individuals who have retired or are just about to retire. Whereas, in the Deferred Annuity option customers can choose the date from which they wish to start receiving regular income, for e.g. individuals for whom retirement is some time away. Individuals can also defer the start of income for a period of 10 years. The longer the deferment, the higher is the regular income. Annuity or retirement products provide lifelong guaranteed regular income to lead a financially independent retired life.
