Building a sizable corpus for your post-retirement life has become essential, especially in this economy. While you can invest in different types of schemes and plans, certain retirement plans, as an employee, make you entitled to receive benefits at the time of your retirement. One such plan is superannuation.
If you are a salaried employee, you must have come across the term superannuation. This basically means retirement however, it is important for you to understand the details of such plans as an employee. Keep reading as we walk through superannuation in detail.
How Does Superannuation Work?
To begin with, you must know that superannuation fundamentally means retirement and a superannuation plan is designed to offer benefits at the time of your retirement. In India, most employers offer some form of superannuation plan that not all employees are aware of.
The working of superannuation in India differs from one employer to another but in most cases, employers have created a superannuation fund as per the schemes notified by the pension fund regulatory regulatory and development authority. At the time of retirement, the employer is liable to provide benefits from these funds.
Types of Superannuation
Employers offer different types of superannuation plans that employees can voluntarily adopt. Now, while there are different terms and conditions on which each employer offers such plans, here’s a list of different types of superannuation plans to give you an overview:
Plan with Defined Benefits
Under this type of superannuation plan, you get benefits based on predetermined factors like your salary and employment duration etc. The contributions you make throughout your employment towards the fund do not impact the benefits you would be entitled to at the time of retirement.
Plans with Defined Contributions
As the name suggests, plans with defined contributions do not come with predetermined benefits; rather, they are based on the predefined contributions you make during the course of your employment. The contribution is usually a fixed sum of money from your monthly salary and the benefits you get at the time of retirement depend on the contributions and the performance of the funds in which they are invested.
Benefits of Superannuation
A superannuation plan is beneficial for employees as it promises to build a sizeable corpus that will help them live a peaceful life even when their regular source of income stops. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of superannuation that you must be aware of before investing in a plan:
Affordable Retirement Benefits
A Superannuation plan is designed to ensure an affordable investment option. In most cases, only a small percentage of the employee's salary is contributed towards the superannuation fund.
Simplified Schemes
One of the biggest advantages of superannuation plans is that these plans do not require employees to understand or have an extensive analytical approach towards market trends. These plans are straightforward and simple to understand making it easy for employees to pick a plan that suits their post-retirement life.
- Option to Diversify Investment
Superannuation plans also come with an option to diversify the investment portfolio by investing in different types of assets like debt, hybrid funds, equity etc. In addition to building a sizable corpus, through these types of investments, employees can benefit from decent returns.
Easily Transferred
Another benefit of a statutory superannuation plan is that it can be transferred from one employer to another every time you switch jobs. This ensures that you get to reap the benefits of the plan till the time you retire irrespective of how many times you switch your job. However, remember that these types of benefits are usually not available in voluntary plans and are only available for statutory superannuation plans.
Promised Benefits
Regardless of the type of plan you choose, a superannuation plan promises benefits. If it is a plan with defined benefits you get to receive a predetermined sum of money at the time of retirement and if it is a plan with defined contributions you get to enjoy benefits for the contributions you make during your employment.
Superannuation Vs Other Retirement Schemes
Superannuation is a type of retirement plan but it differs from other retirement schemes in ways of offering benefits, contributions, tax liabilities etc. Let’s take a look at some of the factors that differentiates superannuation from other retirement schemes:
- Nature of Enrolment
Superannuation plan is a voluntary retirement plan offered by the employer unlike other retirement schemes that are compulsory.
- Affordable and Simple
Superannuation plans are affordable as they charge low fees compared to other retirement plans. Additionally, superannuation plans are easy to understand and do not require deep market research.
- Tax Liabilities
Only 25% of the benefits offered at the time of retirement are exempted from tax liabilities under superannuation plan. Plans like Public Provident Funds offer tax free investment options.
Tax Implications of Superannuation in India
Remember that if the superannuation plan is officially approved and registered it office tax benefits and imposes some liabilities on both the employer and employee. The approval must be obtained from the Commissioner of Income Tax and the employer has to ensure that the superannuation fund is being managed by the provisions given under part B of the fourth schedule of the Income Tax Act.
Let’s take a quick look at the tax implications on the employer and the employee:
How to Enroll in a Superannuation Plan?
The enrolment process for a superannuation plan varies from one employer to another. Once an individual has been appointed as an employee, they become eligible to enrol for a superannuation plan. The entire process is explained to the employee in detail by the employer.
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