The Perfect Gift - A Pension Plan

What Makes a Pension Plan an Ideal Gift for Parents?

While Ruchika and I took papa through the nuances of the pension plan and shared with him why we chose this gift, maa made laddoos at home to celebrate this happy news. Though papa wanted to stop his troubles and trust the plan, uncertainties and lack of proper information troubled him the most.

But being my father’s son, I never lost hope; I was determined to make sure papa either agreed to this plan or came up with the necessary modification, but one way or another, we were going to succeed in providing papa and maa with a fruitful retirement life.

Whenever we discussed about investing in any sort of insurance or savings plan, papa always ended the discussion in a gray area, which is why we had to take matters into our hands and find a plan for him. Papa, being a typical Indian father, could not digest the fact that money was being spent on him. Hence, we needed some more convincing, and it was time for Round 2 to persuade him.

Without wasting a single minute, maa brought tea, and I came with my bundle of papers. Unlike last time, I let papa take the main chair and start the discussion with his questions and doubts. Once the conversation started, there was no end; papa had a plethora of questions, and even the slightest doubt added another question to the list.

Papa got straight to the point and asked what was your process while choosing this Lifetime income plan? I told him about the various return calculators available online. While the market is filled with all sorts of calculators, I trusted the one that was most reliable. After figuring out the exact amount, I came on to the next step to figure out how this plan actually worked. I was so excited yet nervous to answer this part because this was the answer that would make or break the deal.

Before looking for the steps, I had to make the difficult decision of choosing the ideal pension plan. I had choices like Lifetime Income Plan with CashBack Option, Lifetime Income Plan with Term Guarantee Plan, and many others. Each plan had a different set of pros and cons, and I knew I had to make the tough call of choosing the right one because, after all, my parent’s retirement depended on the choices I was going to make.

Based on thorough research and multiple night-long discussions with Ruchika and other friends in the insurance industry, I realized that the Lifetime Income Plan with the CashBack option was the ideal plan as per the needs and wants of maa and papa. It was so because this plan would cover papa’s pension and ensure maa’s medical needs were taken care of. Moreover, this plan gave me the option to start the frequency based on my convenience, and in our case, I opted for the monthly frequency. So, today after almost 10 years of paying the premiums, it’s now time for the pensions to come in.

From making him understand how much financial independence he would get after opting for this pension plan to the income options, he was almost convinced but not fully. After this hour-long discussion, we were still divided in two teams where Ruchika and I kept vouching for pension plans and stress-free post-retirement life, and dad still stood by his old-fashioned way of continuing to work part-time jobs.

What will the final decision be? Will Mr. Sharma take the offer, or will he go back to working 9-5? Find out in the next story.