BSLI Group Unit Linked Gratuity Plan (GULP)

Insurance is a must in today’s world due to the economic and political uncertainty that is prevalent in the world today. However, there is also a lot of financial independence that customers experience enabling them to invest a lot more and also in diverse schemes. Most company also provide insurance policies for their employees and these policies are commonly referred to as Group Policies.

The Group Value Plus Plan is a group linked product that can be utilized by all policyholders in order to provide benefits to employees such as Leave Encashment Schemes. An automatic cover of Rs.1,000 is provided. The employer who will be managing the scheme is the policyholder. This product comes with three different investment and plan options and policyholder can choose the most suitable one based on the group’s needs and requirements.

Eligibility - Who is the Birla Sun Life Insurance Group Unit Linked Gratuity Plan (GVPP) for?

In order to avail the above plan, individuals will have to meet the following criteria:

Minimum Age at Entry	18 years
Maximum Age at Exit	75 years according to rules of the scheme
Maximum Age at Maturity	75 years according to rules of the scheme
Minimum Size of Group	10 members

All ages are based on the last birthday of the individual.

Sum Assured and Premium Range - What you get and what it costs

Sum Assured:

Sum assured will vary based on the plan chosen, premium paid and frequency of payments among other factors.

Sum Assured

Rs.1,000 for every member

Premium:

During the policy inception, the policyholder can either transfer existing fund to Birla Sun Life Insurance or can pay Birla Sun Life Insurance the premium with respect to all members. Premiums will have to be paid in either one or more than one installment and regular payments can also be made.

Premium amount will be converted to units for every account and will be tracked separately. This investment is done based on the investment and plan option chosen by the customer. Premiums will have to be paid to Birla Sun Life Insurance along with necessary details of the plan chosen and investment option chosen.

Additionally, policyholders must also mention the number of accounts that they wish to maintain and premium will be tracked separately for each account. Policyholder also has the option to open accounts at any given point of time by paying new premiums.

Premium

Minimum - Rs.10,000 Maximum - No limit

Customers will have to note that premiums will vary based on age, plan tenure, location and other factors.

Plan Coverage - What the Birla Sun Life Insurance Group Unit Linked Gratuity Plan (GVPP) covers

All policy benefits will be paid directly to the policyholder and not members unless specified otherwise. This investment plan comes with a number of advantages, as listed below:

Death Benefit	The amount that is specified by the policyholder will be paid for the member. Additionally, an amount that is equal to the amount of Sum Assured is payable.
Surrender Benefit	This policy can be surrendered at any given point of time and the policy fund value in each policy account will be paid. However, partial withdrawal of funds is not allowed.
Guaranteed Additions	On each policy anniversary, additional units will be added to the fund. This amount will be based on the average policy fund value.

Investment Options

The following are the investment options available:

Self-Managed Option

If this option is chosen, policyholder can decide how to invest all premiums. There are nine different investment fund options to choose from based on the specific needs of the group. In case policyholder wishes to diversify the risk involved, premium can be allocated in different proportions amongst the fund options. This diversification can be done in increments of 5% and can vary from 5% to 100%. Investment funds can be switched from one option to another at any given point of time if required.

MarketCycle Option

Under this option, the portfolio of the plan will be based on the risk profile such as Conservative, Aggressive, Assure or Moderate. This portfolio will then be managed by Birla Sun Life Insurance. Premium will be invested in Group Income Advantage and Group Growth Maximiser. On the processing date every month, excess of fund value in Group Growth Maximizer over the amount in the Group Income Advantage fund. Balance in the Group Money Market fund can be utilised to take out benefit payouts or to revert back to MarketCycle Option. Risk profile can also be changed at any given point of time. Policyholders can choose from a number of risk profiles.

The Investment Fund options available are:

• Group Money Market Fund
• Group Short Term Debt Fund
• Group Gilt Fund
• Group Fixed Interest Fund
• Group Income Advantage Fund
• Group Bond Fund
• Group Secure Fund
• Group Stable Fund
• Group Growth Fund
• Group Growth Advantage Fund
• Group Growth Maximiser Fund

Other Key Features – Freelook Period, Surrender Values, Grace Period etc.

Free Look Period	In case customers are not satisfied with the policy, it can be returned along with stated reasons within a period of 15 days from date of receipt of the policy. The policy fund value will be returned excluding fund management charge.
Unit Price	On every business day of the fund, unit price is determined by the division of net asset value of every investment fund at the time of valuation by the total number of units that are in existence for the fund in question.
Loan	A policy loan will not be available.
Termination	This policy will cease to exist if- Policy has been surrendered Policy fund value falls below Rs.1,00,000. Premium payment has been stopped for five years. In such cases policy fund will be refunded.
Service tax and Cess	Service tax and Cess is applicable based on prevailing laws.

Tax Benefits - How you can save with the Birla Sun Life Insurance Group Unit Linked Gratuity Plan (GVPP)

Tax benefits are available based on existing tax laws. Since these laws change from time to time, investors are advised to consult their tax advisors for further clarification.

Why you should buy the Group Unit Linked Gratuity Plan (GVPP) from Birla Sun Life Insurance

Birla Sun Life Insurance is co-branded insurance company that has the best of both worlds. A joint venture between Sun Life Financial, which is one of the top financial services company with offices worldwide and Aditya Birla Financial Services Group which is one of the top fund managers in the country, Birla Sun Life Insurance company provides a plethora of products and services. Emphasis is on top notch customer care and state-of-the-art technology which seamlessly blends together to ensure one of the best financial services in the world.

In addition to the sheer number of products available in their portfolio, individuals can also avail other benefits such as online plan procurement, premium calculator and excellent customer care services. This company has also won a number of awards for their services.