PNB MetLife Partners With PolicyBazaar To Launch Smart Invest Pension Plan

PNB MetLife announced its partnership with insurance aggregator Policybazaar to launch the PNB MetLife Smart Invest Pension Plan, a unit-linked insurance plan (Ulip) aimed at individuals planning for their retirement, on February 5, 2025.

The Ulip, named Smart Invest Pension Plan, is aimed at individuals falling between the age of 40 and 50 years.

According to the insurer, the plan is expected to offer a flexible approach towards early retirement. The plan will give subscribers an opportunity to choose between an immediate annuity upon maturity or defer it for a few years. Additionally, a contributor can withdraw 60 per cent of the maturity amount without paying any tax on the lump-sum amount.

Sameer Bansal, managing director and CEO, PNB MetLife, said: “The percentage of India’s elderly population is expected to nearly double by 2050. This demographic shift, combined with increasing life expectancy highlights the critical need for individuals to take charge of retirement planning early in life.”

The Smart Invest Pension plan comes with two funds: Pension Mid Cap Fund and Pension Bond fund. Both funds will be available from February 1-14, 2025, at a net asset value (NAV) of Rs 0.

Key Features Of Smart Invest Pension Plan

Here are the key features of the Smart Invest Pension Plan.

Zero Charges: The plan has no premium allocation or policy administration fee. 

Extended Vesting Age: A subscriber can opt to postpone the vesting age up to 70 years to match their retirement timeline. 

Market-Linked Return Flexibility: Contributors can opt for the automatic asset rebalance strategy or Systematic Transfer Strategy to balance their market-linked return into equity and debt.  

Additionally, one can also choose between the Pension Mid Cap Fund for growth and the Pension Bond Fund for stability. 

Customisable Options: The fund will also offer the option of unlimited fund switches, premium redirection and partial withdrawals after five years for specified needs. 

Sarbvir Singh, joint group CEO, Policybazaar added, “Retirement in India was traditionally viewed as a distant milestone but now it’s widely recognised as a phase of life that requires proactive financial planning right from the early years.”