Maximizing Long-Term Wealth: Why PPF, SSY & NPS Still Matter Beyond Tax Benefits

 When it comes to secure and disciplined long-term saving, few instruments offer the reliability and structured growth of schemes like the Public Provident Fund (PPF), Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), and National Pension System (NPS). While their tax-saving advantages have traditionally attracted investors, even in a scenario where these benefits fade, their core value as long-term investment vehicles remains intact.

PPF & SSY: Government-Backed and Tax-Free Growth

PPF is ideal for individuals seeking a retirement corpus with tax-free interest and maturity proceeds.

SSY is targeted at parents investing in their daughters’ future, offering some of the highest interest rates among small savings schemes.

NPS Unlike PPF and SSY, the National Pension System (NPS) offers market-linked returns by investing in a mix of equities, government bonds, and corporate debt. Over the long term, this has the potential to outperform traditional savings schemes, making it a compelling choice for retirement planning.

PPF, SSY, and NPS each serve a unique purpose in a well-balanced portfolio. Their fundamental benefits as disciplined, long-term investment avenues remain solid. 

Evaluating these schemes not just as tax tools, but as strategic financial assets, will help investors build a more resilient and purpose-driven financial future.

Transfer your PF account without employer approval

To ensure ease of doing for its members, the  process has been simplified for transfer of PF account thus reducing delays and ensures a seamless experience for employees changing jobs.

However, this simplification process will not be applicable in certain cases. Below are the scenarios where simplification applies:

Same UAN with Aadhaar Linkage (Post-2017):

If transfers are between member IDs linked to the same UAN (issued on or after October 1, 2017) and Aadhaar, employer approval is no longer required.

Different UANs with Aadhaar Linkage (Post-2017):

Transfers between member IDs associated with different UANs (issued on or after October 1, 2017) and linked to the same Aadhaar can now be processed directly.

Same UAN with Aadhaar Linkage (Pre-2017):

Transfers between member IDs linked to the same UAN issued before October 1, 2017, are eligible, provided the UAN is linked to Aadhaar, and the member’s name, date of birth, and gender are consistent across Member IDs.

Different UANs with Aadhaar Linkage (Pre-2017):

Transfers between member IDs associated with different UANs (where at least one was issued before October 1, 2017) and linked to the same Aadhaar can also be processed, as long as member details match across IDs.

Home Loan & Amortization

Relatively little principal is paid off in the early stages of the loan, with most of each payment going toward interest.

Understanding the loan amortization schedule can help an individual to determine where to focus to pay down debt.

Home loan borrowers are the worst impacted people due to the sharp rise in lending rates

Borrowers with a big outstanding and longer tenures will be hit the hardest.

“Loan interest is often the biggest expense in home ownership. So, the lesser it is, the better,”

Existing home loan borrowers can use surpluses parked in low-yield fixed income products to make home loan prepayments.

The interest rates charged on home loans are usually higher than the interest rates offered on most fixed income products,

This may be the best time to go for partial prepayment or accelerate your prepayment and reduce the interest burden.

Any partial prepayment brings down your loan outstanding instantly, reducing the interest outflow also.

What is the 20/10/4 rule when taking a car loan ?

1.This is a thumb rule used while buying a car on a loan.

2. 20% of the onroad price of the car should be paid as down payment while booking the vehicle.

3.The EMI should not be more than 10% of the monthly income.

4.The loan tenure should be for a maximum of four years.

5.This rule will vary from individual to individual, according to their monthly income and other liabilities.

Absolute & Annualised returns ?

 When it comes to investments, one should definitely understand the difference between these two.

 An absolute return measures an investment’s performance without accounting for the amount of time committed.

 On the other hand, annualised returns are annual gains that an investment earns over a specific time period.

For instance, when an investment of Rs 1,000 grows to Rs 1,300 over five years, then Rs 300 is an absolute gain with 30 per cent growth. This 30 per cent return is absolute return. But when annualised, the same gain is 5.38 per cent, which means each year, over a period of five years, Rs 1,000 incrementally grows by 5.38 per cent to become Rs 1,300.