The Supreme Court on Monday directed uniform pension benefits for all retired high court judges, irrespective of their mode of appointment or tenure, saying "one rank one pension has to be the norm in respect of a constitutional office".
With organisations like the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, which is a front of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, telling Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman they want OPS back, the government is in a bind, report Shiva Rajora and Aditi Phadnis.
'The new Bill introduces no policy or rate changes, leaving financial planning strategies largely unaffected.'
'The considerations for choosing between the old and new tax regimes remain essentially unchanged.'
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
The 'restore old pension' campaign is being spearheaded by the National Movement for Old Pension Scheme (NMOPS), a federation with over 13 lakh government employees as its members.
The National Pension System (NPS) added 21.5 per cent fewer fresh subscribers under the corporate segment in 2023 compared to the preceding year. Government officials and experts attribute it to the higher exemption limit of income tax of Rs 7 lakh announced in the FY24 Budget that no more requires employees under this income bracket to opt for NPS for tax-saving purposes. Data collated from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) reveals that the corporate component is voluntary in nature and saw 158,212 new subscribers in 2023 compared to 201,517 during 2022.
The pension fund managers distribute products under the National Pension System.
From how to open an NPS Vatsalya account to knowing how this scheme compares to investing in mutual fund or in provident fund, Ramalingam Kalirajan offers a 360-degree view and the pros and cons of investing in a scheme that has the potential to secure your child's financial well-being.
If you were to choose one of these as long term investment (at least 15 years), which one would you opt for? What should be the reasons for you to choose one of these? Here is a comparison of these schemes based on certain important factors
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Most think tax-saving deductions exist only in the old regime. But the New one quietly retains 40+ ways to ease your tax load
Invest in MFs for liquidity and choice of funds. Invest in NPS for the tax benefits, tax-free rebalancing, and for earmarked savings for retirement.
'Young investors with limited funds should ensure that investing in NPS does not crowd out their other, more liquid, investments.'
Now that the National Pension Scheme offers more choices than the Employees Provident Fund, is more transparent and also allows to choose the level of allocation to equities as investors like, should one switch to the NPS?
All that you wanted to know about the new pension scheme and pension fund managers.
But to avail the benefit of this new tax-saving scheme you will need to ask your employer to make some changes to your CTC package.
The increase in joining age will provide the options to the subscribers who are at the fag-end of the employment
The pension regulator, the Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority, is taking various steps to boost the numbers, cairman D Swarup tells Vrishti Beniwal in an exclusive interview
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
'When we say we want to increase pension participation, do we want to increase participation through the savings route?' 'Or do we want people to save in specific pension products?' asks Renuka Sane.
If you work for 30 years, a two per cent difference in pension returns can reduce your final retirement nest egg by 40 per cent. The Rs 9-trillion National Pension System (NPS) seems to be delivering incrementally higher returns than the twice-as-large Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), shows a Business Standard analysis of data over the last seven years for the two retirement fund bodies. An investor who put in Rs 100 in retirement savings seven years ago would have seen her NPS nest egg grow to Rs 182 by 2023, according to the analysis based on the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority's recently released Handbook of National Pension System Statistics 2023.
When the subscriber reaches superannuation or the age of 60, 60 per cent of the total corpus accumulated in NPS can be withdrawn as a lump sum.
NPS is a cost-effective instrument with low fund management and other fees. Unlike in mutual funds, investors get the benefit of tax-free rebalancing here.
Taxation has played spoilsport despite double digit returns.
Why did the political system in the country react to these two decisions of the Modi government in a diametrically opposite manner? asks A K Bhattacharya.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
If a risk taker and young, NPS would suit her/him. Otherwise, s/he should go for EPF.
Most insurers aren't comfortable with subscribing to the National Pension System as they see it as competition.
Read this to find if you will be investing in the NPS for your retirement needs.
The idea of retirement planning with a pension plan assures regular income to the policyholder in the form of pension or annuity.
Anil Rego, CEO, Right Horizons, answers your personal income tax queries
Reduction in the mandatory minimum contribution and extension to invest in the scheme from 60 years to 70 years has made the National Pension Scheme more friendly, says Anil Chopra, Group CEO & Director Bajaj Capital
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Rajasthan is reeling under a huge financial burden with the state's debt having gone beyond Rs 5.59 lakh crores. Rajasthan has increased expenditure on education by 203.4 percent, by 105.4 percent on health, by 227.14 percent on housing. Its expenditure on social welfare schemes has increased by almost 2,475 per cent.
The scarcity of resources is particularly evident in the case of Rajasthan compared to many other states.
Since NPS is used for a long-term goal like retirement, allowing younger investors to have higher exposure to equities will give them a chance to earn higher returns.
Goyal also announced hiking of tax free gratuity to Rs 30 lakh from existing Rs 20 lakh for employees having service of more than five years.
A new kind of pension-cum-savings scheme is on the anvil, which would provide a safety net as well as liquidity to the holder.
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