SBI Life Insurance Company has taken a headstart over the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in finalising its Pension Tatkal scheme on the lines of the Varishta Pension Bima Yojana announced in the Budget for 2003-04. The annuity product will be offered across the nation by the end of May.
In his Budget, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh had said the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) would launch a Varishta Pension Bima Yojana with an assured 9 per cent annual rate of return. This was to be partly subsidised by the government.
LIC officials said the proposal was still with the Centre, and the product was yet to be filed with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).
SBI Life's product, however, had been cleared by IRDA, said the company