Everything You Need To Know About Money Back Life Insurance Policy
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Money back policy is a type of life insurance product that offers regular returns or a lump-sum amount to the insured at a predefined time during the policy term. With a money back policy, you can receive guaranteed returns, or the returns may depend on investment performance, or a combination of both.
Money Back Insurance Policy – Overview
When you invest in a money back insurance policy, you will receive money during the policy tenure as a percentage of the sum assured. The payout you receive is called "Survival Benefits." You will continue to receive regular payments throughout the tenure of the policy. The remaining sum assured is paid on maturity along with vested bonuses if any. In the event of the demise of the insured, the beneficiary receives the sum assured along with a bonus amount. The amount is given even if the insured has received payment during the policy tenure. This is one of the unique features of a money back plan.
Most traditional life insurance plans do not allow you to withdraw funds before the tenure. You always have the option of taking a loan, but the amount may be limited, and you have to start thinking about the repayment as soon as you avail of the loan. To be prepared for unexpected events in life, you should have a plan that pays you lump sum amounts during the tenure. A money back plan is an excellent option that solves your liquidity problem.
How Does a Money Back Policy Work?
A money-back policy offers you survival benefits, investment opportunities, and maturity benefits. Let us see how the money back plan works.
Using a money-back policy, you can plan for your financial goals like your child's education and your retirement.
Suppose you want to buy a child money-back plan. Assume the current age of your child is 10 years old. You buy a money back plan for a sum assured of Rs 20 lakhs in 2021. The tenure of your policy is 25 years, and you pay a premium throughout the policy tenure. As per the policy term, you will receive survival benefits of 20% of the sum assured (Rs 4 lakhs) every five years. On maturity, you will receive your last 20% along with the bonus, if any. You can use the payouts as follows:
a) 2026: In the fifth year, you receive Rs. 4 lakhs. You can use these funds for your child's tuition fee.
b) 2031: The next payment of Rs 4 lakhs will be made in the policy's tenth year. Your child will be 20 years old by this time. The money received can be used for the higher education of your child.
c) 2036: When your child turns 25, you will receive the third payment in the 15th policy year. You can use the amount for their marriage expenses.
d) 2041: The fourth payment you can keep for retirement purposes. It will come in the 20th policy year.
e) 2046: You will receive the remaining Rs. 4 lakhs from the policy, plus any applicable bonuses, and the policy will be terminated.
f) If you die during the policy term, your nominees will receive the sum assured of Rs. 20 lakhs plus any accrued bonuses, and the policy will be terminated.
By 2041, you would have received Rs 16 lakhs. In 2046 (maturity), you will receive the remaining Rs 4 lakh along with the bonuses. The policy will terminate once you have received the final payment. In the case of an unfortunate event, if you die in the 18th year of the policy, the beneficiary will receive Rs 20 lakh (sum assured) along with bonuses. The nominee receives the complete sum assured, even though you have received Rs 12 lakh by then.
Why do you Need a Money Back Policy?
You will need a money-back policy in the following scenarios:
1. You want to Preserve your Saving
This is a very common use of money-back policies, as it allows your savings to stay safe and become useful later. Also, these savings will not only come back to you within a few years, but you will also have a growing retirement corpus available at maturity.
2. You want to Simplify your Investments
Investment decisions can be very challenging, especially when your focus is on earning money rather than investing. But you do not want to lose your savings while you decide. So, invest in a money back policy to preserve the capital from inflation, lock-in, and taxes.
3. Save for an Important Family Goal
Money back policies can not only preserve your invested capital, but also the goal itself. The sum assured will be available to the family when you cannot be there for them.
4. Support a Dependent Family Member
Often parents spend their entire life’s earnings and fortune to help you stand on your feet. Even at times, you may have a family member who needs lifelong financial support due to illness or disability. Money-back policies are perfect long-term cash flow solutions in these scenarios.
Features of a Money Back Policy
The best money back plan helps you achieve both your medium and long-term goals. It also gives you a life cover. Here are some features of the best money-back policy:
Guaranteed Returns
A money back policy is an ideal investment if you want safe and secure returns. The returns are not driven by the fluctuation of the equity market. You receive guaranteed returns irrespective of how the market is behaving.
Income During the Policy Tenure
You receive regular income to take care of your large expenses. For example, you can use the money to pay off your existing loans, go on vacation, or redesign your house.
Income on Maturity
You get a guaranteed and secured income on maturity, which helps you plan your future in a much better way.
Financial Support upon Death of the Insured
If the policyholder passes away, the nominee receives the sum assured along with the bonus (if any). The policy acts as a standard insurance plan in this respect.
Bonus Additions
There are two types of bonus amounts in a money-back policy: a reversionary bonus and an additional bonus.
The reversionary bonus is given as a percent of the sum assured by the company. The amount gets added to the overall payment you are supposed to receive at maturity or in the event of an unfortunate event.
Sometimes, the company may also give you an additional bonus depending on the company's performance. The other instance when you receive additional bonuses is when you pay the entire premium on time.
Add-on Riders
The option to add different riders to your money back plan depends on the policy you are choosing. You may also get the option to add a hospitalisation rider to your money back policy that will help you manage the hospital expenses if the policyholder or life insured has been hospitalized.
A premium waiver is another rider that you may include if it is available in your money back plan. If the policyholder fails to make the premium payment, this rider protects the loss of the life insurance plan. The policies continue to protect the lives of those who are insured rather than expiring due to nonpayment of premiums.
Benefits of Money Back Plans
Money back policy is one of the best variants of life insurance. A money-back plan gives you guaranteed regular payouts at defined intervals. These payouts start within the policy and help you meet various needs and achieve your investment goals. Here are the advantages of this plan.
Guaranteed Returns on Investment
One of the biggest benefits you can get from your money back plan is that you will get guaranteed returns. Thus, as the name suggests, it makes sure that you get your money back from the policy. This advantage makes the money-back policy a tension-free investment. You will not have to stress as to how your investment will do and whether you will be able to get money or not.
This is an ideal plan if you do not like to take risks and the safety of the corpus is your top-most priority.
Provides you with a Life Cover
Since a money-back plan gives you a payout at regular intervals, and that it comes with an insurance cover as well. So if anything unexpected happens and you lose your life, then your family will be given a lump-sum amount, i.e., the sum assured.
The sum assured that your family will receive will help keep them financially secure so that they do not have to struggle. Through this money, they can carry on with their expenses and can achieve their goals even if you are not there to provide for them.
Returns are Generated After a Few Years
In other variants of life insurance, there is only a death benefit involved. That is, your family will receive the sum assured if you die during the policy. While in other policies, you may have to wait a long time to receive a benefit. But with a money-back insurance policy, you receive the returns while your policy is still running.
Helps Increase your Sum through Bonuses
Bonuses are an integral part of a money-back plan. You can get an additional amount in terms of bonuses, such as "reversionary bonus" and "terminal bonus". These bonuses are available if you have paid all your premiums.
A simple reversionary bonus is added to your policy at the end of the year. This gets accrued every year. This accrued amount is given to you at the time of maturity or at the time of your death, to your family. There is another bonus known as a "terminal bonus" in the money-back plan. These are based on the profits earned by the insurance company.
Tax Benefits
As with other life insurance plans, a money-back plan is also eligible for tax deductions. These tax deductions are available under section 80C of the Income Tax Act 1961. These tax-benefits help you reduce your tax liability. That is, you can lower your annual tax outflow if you invest in a money-back policy and save even more money.
Under Section 80C, you can avail a deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh towards the premium you pay for your money back plan. Also, the maturity benefit will be exempt from tax if your annual investments in the plan never exceed 10% of the policy life cover.
Secure Investments with a Money Back Plan
Money back plans have premium protection features. The premium protection feature allows you to ensure investment for the full policy term even after your demise within the policy term.
After your demise the family receives the life cover sum assured immediately and the intended maturity value upon usual maturity.
Value of Money Higher with a Money Back Policy
The value of money declines over time due to inflation. This means that Rs 1 lakh now is more valuable than Rs 1 lakh five years from now. The money back policy pays part of the sum assured before maturity. Therefore, you receive a major part of the total survival benefit much before maturity. The value of these early receipts in your hand is higher than if the amount was paid all at once at maturity.
Insured Receives the Full Sum Assured on Maturity
Upon maturity, the money back policy will pay the remaining sum assured and accrued bonuses. Thus, the policy pays the entire sum assured to the insured upon surviving the policy term. Parts of the sum assured would have been paid at regular intervals before maturity.
Conclusion
A money-back policy provides you with an option to add coverage that is not included in the original policy document in the form of riders. Riders give you cover in cases like accidental death, hospitalisation expenses, terminal illness, permanent disability, and many more.
Also read: Who Can Buy MB Plans In India?
