Things you didn’t Know about PPF !!!

Posted byprofessorbajajPosted inInvestment Advisors, Professionals, StudentsTags:, ,

“It’s the HR mail again. I need to do my tax savings now and submit the proofs.” Said Monisha, a 26 years old Software professional to her colleagues Akshay and Neha.

Neha: Me too !! Where should I invest ??

Monisha: Of course PPF !! I have heard from everyone that it is the best option for 80C. Also, the markets look scary these days. I need something with guaranteed returns. Now they have increased the interest rate also on PPF. We get 8.6% guaranteed.

Akshay (smiling): Well Of course, it is “One of the best” options for 80C!! But are you aware of a few things about PPF ??

Neha (Curiously): Like ??

Akshay: First, the 8.6% is not really a guaranteed rate forever. It is actually benchmarked to the 10-year government bond yield. So for this year, the PPF will earn 8.6% which is 0.25% above the average benchmark yield in the previous financial year.

Monisha: Ohh !! So does that mean, it could earn lower returns in coming years ??

Akshay: Yes, as we know that interest rates have peaked and are expected to go down, the benchmark yield could also go down by some extent. So we might even have an year where the PPF earns 5.75%, if the benchmark yield drops to 5.5%.

Monisha: But I will toh get 8.6% only na, as I have invested in this year itself ??

Akshay: It doesn’t work like an FD Monisha. If you make an FD for 5 years at 9.5%, then it will keep earning 9.5% irrespective of the market movements for 5 years. But this won’t happen in case of a PPF. Here, the interest will be calculated every year depending on the benchmark and will be paid accordingly, irrespective of which year you invested the money.

Neha: Oh No !! PPF was the only option that was giving tax-free guaranteed returns. Now that’s also gone. I was planning to invest full Rs. 1 Lakh in PPF for tax saving purpose this year. Till Last year, I could invest only Rs. 70,000.

Akshay: Neha, we are salaried people. We anyways do not need to invest full Rs. 1 Lakh in PPF. We anyways contribute towards EPF. Suppose each month we are paying Rs. 2250 towards EPF (which gets deducted from our salary), then in the financial year, we have already saved Rs. 27,000 u/s 80C. So, now we have to save only Rs. 73,000 for tax saving purpose.

Also, while making tax saving investments, we should also consider our overall financial planning. For example, our EPF is going in debt instruments, our infra bond investments (u/s 80CCF) is going into debt instruments and now if we invest the balance Rs. 73,000 in PPF, we are holding a debt heavy portfolio. This is not good for our long term goals.

Neha: Also, one thing I didn’t like about PPF is that its maturity is too long. We would get the amount after 15 years. That’s too much of a lock-in period. Thus, PPF scores low on liquidity aspect.

Monisha: No No !! This is wrong !! PPF can be withdrawn after 5 years. I think 5 years lock-in isn’t too bad !! What do you say, Akshay ??

Akshay: I will answer this in two parts. First Part, PPF can be withdrawn after 5 years. But the withdrawn amount will be clubbed with your income for that year. So, basically whatever amount you withdraw from PPF, is taxable if you withdraw it before maturity (i.e. before 15 years of account opening).

Second part, even after 5 years of opening the PPF account, entire amount is not available for withdrawal. To give an example, suppose, Neha has opened her PPF account on 1st April 2006, and it has completed 5 years on 1st April 2011. Every year, Neha has deposited Rs. 70,000 in PPF. For calculation purposes, I am ignoring the interest part for now. So as on 1st April 2011, the balance in Neha’s PPF account is Rs. 3.5 Lakhs. However, she will be able to withdraw 50% of the balance 3 years back i.e. 50% of balance as on 1st April 2008. If the balance on 1st April 2008 was Rs. 1,40,000 then on 1st April 2011, the liquidity available to Neha is only Rs. 70,000. And that too, taxable.

Neha: See !! I was right !! PPF scores very poor on liquidity. I have Rs. 3.5 Lakhs in my account, but I can withdraw only Rs. 70,000 (only 20% of the available balance), that too taxable!!

Monisha: But you can also take a loan on your PPF. Right?? Then it won’t be taxable.

Akshay: Yes, but I find it really a bad financial planning if we have to take a loan against our own investments. As regards PPF, the interest on loan will be 2% costlier than the interest which we will earn on it. So, to me, it will be a bad deal.

Neha: Yeah, me too !! I am toh planning not to invest even a single rupee in PPF this year.

Akshay: Don’t make this mistake !! Whether you like it or not, you are compelled to pay at least Rs. 500 per year to your PPF account or you need to pay a penalty.

Neha: That didn’t sound too nice, but Rs. 500 is something I can manage and pay every year. Or should I pay more??

Akshay (smiling) :As I have already told you, this decision should be driven by your overall financial planning.

Monisha (interrupting): Are you trying to say, that PPF is not a useful option any more ?? I don’t agree.

Akshay : You are right !! And I was just saying the same, that this decision would vary from person to person as per his / her profile. For example, a self-employed person, of age group 30-35, who does not make any contribution towards EPF, should definitely invest Rs. 30-35 thousand per year towards PPF so that debt investment is included in his portfolio.

But salaried people like us, who are young, and should not have more than 30-35% exposure to debt, need to first work out our total EPF contribution for the year. Also, we are investing Rs. 20,000 in the infrastructure bonds (which is also a debt investment). So if the sum of both is already Rs. 37-42 thousand, then no need to invest in PPF. Just invest the mandatory Rs. 500 and forget it.

Neha (doing some calculations): So I should invest Rs. 4,500 in PPF, as Rs. 12,500 was my EPF deduction and I invested Rs. 20,000 in 80CCF bonds. So that would add up to Rs. 37,000. And what to do for the balance investments?

Akshay: Neha, Monisha, I am not an expert to be giving you any exact figures. Whatever, I have told you is what I have been discussing with my investment advisor. What is right for me, may not be exactly right for you. Monisha is 26 and already married. Neha is 24 and single. So the planning for all of us could differ. The best would be take professional help without any delay.

Neha, Monisha: Thanks for the useful info Akshay. Our doubts about PPF are also clear. And now we also understand that tax planning works best when it is in line with our financial planning too.

We look forward to your feedback and comments on the above article. Please feel free to contact us on saurabh@nidhiinvestments.com if you have any questions.

(The views mentioned in the article are personal opinion of the author. The characters used in the article are hypothetical).

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Published by professorbajaj

Prof. Saurabh Bajaj is an Author, Mentor, Motivational Speaker and Wealth Planner. He has done his MBA from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) Mumbai, one of the top 10 management institutes in India. He holds the prestigious FRM (Financial Risk Manager) degree awarded by Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), USA. Till date, there are less than 15,000 professionals in the world, who have been honored with this degree. He has also been awarded CFGP (Chartered Financial Goal Planner) Certification by AAFM (American Academy of Financial Management). After his MBA, he joined J P Morgan, the second largest Investment Bank in the world. He has worked with J P Morgan as Risk Analyst for more than two years. Prof. Bajaj also holds an Advisory certification awarded by AMFI (Association of Mutual Funds of India). During his stint at Bombay Stock Exchange, he has handled Investment Management and Treasury operations of the BSE Corpus. He has set up an entrepreneurship venture in the field of Wealth Planning and Investment Consulting under the name “Nidhi Investments” and holds the profile of CEO. Prof. Bajaj sits on the Expert Panel of CAClubindia.com and MBAClubindia.com as Investment Expert. He is actively involved in investor education through his blog www.professorbajaj.com which has a readership from 78 Countries all over the world. His articles are also regularly published in caclubindia.com , mbaclubindia.com , totalca.com , charteredclub.com, bankbazaar.com and lawyersclubindia.com . He has been awarded the title of “Best Article Writer” from caclubIndia.com in Jan 2012 and has been selected amongst “Top 5 Technical Writers” from all over India in Feb 2013. He has been invited by various TV Channels like SPIN TV, CNBC TV18, UTV Bloomberg Etc for programs like "Expert Advice" , "What Markets Want ", "Budget Analysis" etc. He has been invited by Several organisations like Lions Club, Rotary Club, Agrawal Welfare Foundation, Rajasthan Mandal, Agroha Vikas Trust, Union MF, UTI MF, Arthamitra Gurukulam, Vidyalankar Institute of Technology etc for expert lecture on "Smart Investing", "Life is A Celebration", "Financial Freedom", "The Digital IFA" etc. He was ranked 8th Merit at All India level NMAT which got him selected for MBA programme at NMIMS, Mumbai. He did his MBA with Capital Markets as his specialisation. Soft Skills has become an inevitable part of every selection process and teaching learning process these days. The students from small towns and tier II cities, in spite of being talented and well equipped with technical skills, are seen struggling in the selection process. This is because of their lack of exposure to these soft skills. Mr. Bajaj has a zeal for training candidates to develop these skills and has been imparting the same on since last two years. This zeal and passion inspired him to set up his own firm called “Knowledge Circle” which aims to train candidates for soft skills. Till date, he has trained more than 5000 participants from over 220 organizations across various fields of soft skills. He has been associated with MSBTE (Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education) to conduct Soft skills training workshop for the faculties of Polytechnic Colleges in Entire Maharashtra (Mumbai Region, Pune Region, Aurangabad Region and Nagpur Region) since last 8 years. He has also been associated with ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) for training CA Students on various topics related to Communications skills, Group Discussions etc. He was invited by Fr. Agnel Polytechnic College, Vashi for a motivational workshop for faculties. He was also invited by Vivekanad Polytechnic College for "Communication Skills and Email Etiquette" training for non-teaching staff. Apart from these, he has conducted “Capacity Building Soft Skills workshop for Faculties” at ITI Gunj, ITI Pusad, ITI Digras and ITI Umarkhed. This was the first ever soft skills workshop for faculties in the history of ITI’s in Vidarbha. He was also invited by Shivaji Education Society to conduct similar Soft skills workshops for the faculties and office staff of Shivaji Junior College Pusad, Shivaji High School Pusad, Shivaji Vidyalaya Belora and Shivaji Vidyalaya Bhojla. He has conducted training workshop on “Effective Presentation Skills” for the relationship managers of HDFC Mutual Fund, Andheri Branch, Mumbai. He has also been invited at College of Management and Computer Science, Yavatmal, College of Dairy Technology, Warud, B N College of Engineering, Pusad, B D College of Engineering, Wardha, College of Engineering and Technology, Akola, Dr.N.P.Hirani Institute of Polytechnic, Pusad etc. for the Guest lecture on “Developing Interview Skills”.

46 thoughts on “Things you didn’t Know about PPF !!!”

  4. Bro,
    This piece takes off the mask off the misconceptions that people have about PPF.
    I think I have heard these things from so many people that you have struck the right chord.

    I think everyone in my circle atleast should read this article!

    Great job.!

    Reply

    1. THanks Bhai !!

      Thats the idea of this article. To remove the misconceptions people have about investment products.

      It will be great if this article happens to be helpful to people in your circle.

      Thanks again for your visit and feedback. Look forward to more in future.

      Reply

    1. THanks Bhabhi !!

      Your compliments and critics both are welcome on the blog. But whichever way you prefer.

      THanks again for your visit and feedback. Look forward to more in future.

      Reply

  7. Great article in terms of subject and message. But this time I personally think message could have been given differently.
    Where it is surely an article giving facts about PPF that people generally ignore, but I got a bit lost in two points here
    1. Though in some part its trying to have disclamer that its not all -ve about PPF but initial part is seems be giving -ve feeling about PPF.
    2. I am not sure if it was intended (if so ignore this point), but after reading I felt that PPF investment only make sense for 80C. If your 80C is all over then there is no point in having PPF (for your debt part of investment).

    Never the less, your atricles has always given the facts hidden from eyes of common investors. Thanks for your continuing effort.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for your insightful comments Sir !!

      1. The article isnt aimed to give any negative feeling about PPF. But it is definitely aimed to highlight few facts about PPF which are not known to people. “PPF is the best investment as it gives tax-free guaranteed returns” is what everyone knows. So this article highlights what is beyond the popular belief. Hence the title.

      2. All it says is, do not invest in PPF (or anywhere else) just looking at the tax saving angle. Even while doing tax planning, take your overall financial planning into consideration. Also, if not for tax saving, PPF returns need to be compared with other debt instruments for treating it like a debt investment.

      Thanks again for your visit and feedback. Look forward to more in future.

      Reply

      1. Thats where I was comming from when I said “Great article in terms of subject and message”. No doubt about what message was being conveyed. But somehow when I read the article did not got that message clearly, don’t know just felt (personal opinion and can be different or even wrong) it that way.

  8. Great Article and a must read for Service class people to get all the clarifications on PPF. To be very frank, I was not knowing about the PPf % being driven by the Govt. Bond Yeild rate on a yearly basis. This was a nice addition to my GK too.. 🙂

    Reply

    1. THanks for the compliments !!

      Trust me, its not only you, there are many people who are not aware of this. And thus, I try to highlight such hidden facts through these articles.

      THanks again for your visit and feedback. Look forward to more in future.

      Reply

  17. Sirji,

    The Most admired part of your articles are expressed as a plot not merely a return statements which are easy to follow and avoid mental hassles.

    Keep writing good…..

    Nipun

    Reply

  21. I started reading your articles very recently and find it very simple and helpful. They are not like the other articles that talk a lot but do not give any specific direction. Great going – congratulations.

    I am a novice in investing and looking for help. I believe you provide professional help. How can I contact you – I have already emailed you my problem statement.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for your valuable feedback Sir !!

      Yes, I have gone through your mail and replied the same.

      Providing professional help to you would be indeed a pleasure.

      Thanks again for your visit and feedback !! Looking forward to more in future !!

      Reply

  22. Great article and well written. Ten years of IT job and yet did not realize that PPF rates could vary…Good job

    Reply

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