A sound education is one of the bulwarks upon which the foundation of a strong economy is erected. It becomes the moral responsibility of every parent to prepare a sound financial plan for the education of their children. With the escalating cost of education coupled with the dwindling nature of money it is very important to draw up a suitable financial plan for children's education.

In this issue we discuss MyChild plan offered by Birla Sun Life. MyChild is an exclusive child insurance plan which ensures that child's education remains on track notwithstanding the uncertainties in life and in the process guarantees a safe and congenial "tomorrow".

The MyChild plan is a combination of risk cover along with market related returns. Apart from securing the children's future this plan also offers attractive returns which can be invested for the future of the child. The MyChild plan comes in 2 different varieties

• The Flexi Save Plus Endowment Plan
• The Flexi Cash Flow Money Back Plan

Both the above variants are unit linked in nature. Considering their unit linked nature this plan offers a choice of three investment funds. The policyholder can opt a fund which best suits his needs. The portfolio mix is given below:

% assets invested (upper limit)	Protector	Builder	Enhancer
Government securities	85%	70%	55%
AA rated Corporate Bonds	30%	30%	30%
Money market and other liquid assets	20%	20%	20%
Infrastructure sectors as defined by IRDA	25%	25%	25%
Listed equities	10%	10%	10%

The waiver of premium rider is available along with this plan which can be taken on the life of the parent. The rider acts as a shield in the event of any financial difficulty which may arise due to unforeseen circumstances like death of the parent or total permanent disability of the parent or the parent suffering from any critical illness specified under this rider. Depending upon the contingency all the future premiums will be waived and the policy will continue as before.

• Under this plan this child's life is insured
• The minimum face amount is Rs.50,000
• This plan matures at the following ages which can be selected as per the discretion of the policyholder.

• The waiver of premium rider is available along with this policy
• The entry depends upon the maturity period.
• For the policy which maturity period of 15 years the entry age is between 1-10 years and for a 20 year plan is 1-15 years and for a 25 years duration plan the age of entry is between 1-17 years.

The features of the money back plan are more or less the same as the endowment plan. However the principle difference pertains to the maturity and the entry ages.

• Under this policy the ages at which the policy matures are 10 years, 15 years and 20 years. It is the prerogative of the policyholder to choose whichever maturity period he desires in line with his profile and requirements.
• Correspondingly the entry age for the money back plan will be for a 10 year duration 1-15 years, for a 15 year duration 1-10 years and for a 20 years duration 1-5 years.

• Guaranteed overall return of 3% per annum on the premium net of all charges and deductions
• The entire upside in the performance of the fund is made available to the policyholder.
• Tax free withdrawals from the policy are possible after 3 years.
• The maturity benefit payable under this policy is the value of the policy fund. Death benefit is the face amount plus the value of the policy fund will be paid to the nominee.