ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan: Good or Bad? An Insightful ULIP Review

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Is ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan designed to maximize your wealth and provide peace of mind?

Can the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan provide flexibility and life cover in one comprehensive package?

Is the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan the key to your investment success?

This article explores the features, advantages, disadvantages, and returns through an Internal Rate of Return analysis. Our goal is to provide a detailed understanding of the plan, aiding you in making informed investment decisions.

What is the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan?

Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Wealth Infinia is a unit-linked non-participating individual life insurance savings plan. ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan provides you risk coverage during the Policy Term and offers the flexibility to choose from 18 fund options and 5 investment strategies thereby giving you complete control over your savings.

What are the features of the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan?

Flexibility to choose between two plan variants – Milestone Variant (coverage till Age 85) and Legacy Variant (coverage till Age 100).
Life Cover throughout the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan Policy Term ensures that your family is financially secure even in your absence
Choice of 5 investment strategies and 18 funds to suit your varied investment needs
Wealth Boosters and Loyalty Additions are added periodically during the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan Policy Term to enhance your Fund Value
Return of Mortality and Premium Allocation Charges at maturity to boost your Fund Value
Tax Benefits will be applicable on Premiums paid and Benefits received as per prevailing tax laws

Who is eligible for the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan?

	Legacy Variant	Milestone variant
Minimum Entry Age	30 days
Minimum Maturity Age	100 years	18 years
Maximum Entry Age	5 Pay: 45 years 6 Pay: 55 years 7 Pay: 60 years Other Premium Paying Term options: 65 years	65 years
Maximum Maturity Age	100 years	85 years
Minimum Premium	Single Premium: ₹ 5,00,000 Limited Premium/ Regular Premium: ₹ 2,00,000
Maximum Premium	No Limit
Minimum Sum Assured	Single Premium: ₹ 6,25,000 Limited Premium/ Regular Premium: ₹ 14,00,000
Maximum Sum Assured	No Limit
Premium paying term	Single Pay Limited Pay: 5 to 20 years	Single Pay Limited Pay: 5 to 12 years Regular Pay: 10 to 30 years
Minimum policy term	100 years minus entry age	10 years
Maximum policy term	100 years minus entry age	30 years
Premium payment mode	Annual, Semi-Annual, Quarterly, Monthly, Single

What are the benefits of the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan?

1.) Death benefit

For both the Variants

In case of Death of the Life Insured anytime during the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan Policy Term, the nominee will receive the higher of:

Fund Value as on date of intimation of death; or
Sum Assured (reduced by partial withdrawals made during the two years immediately preceding the date of death of the Life Insured, if any); or
105% of the Total Annualized Premiums/Single Premium received till the date of death of the Life Insured (reduced by all partial withdrawals, if any made during the two-year period immediately preceding the death of the Life Insured, if any)

2.) Maturity benefit

Upon survival of the Life Insured up to the end of the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan Policy Term, he will receive the Fund Value in a lump sum or as a structured payout using the Settlement Option.

Additionally, all the Premium Allocation charges and Mortality charges collected, excluding GST, over the entire ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan Policy Term will be returned to You.

3.) Loyalty additions and Wealth Boosters

Loyalty Additions are benefits added in the form of additional units to the policy which shall be credited only if the Life Insured has paid all due premiums under the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan policy. Loyalty Addition will be calculated as a percentage of Fund Value.

Wealth Boosters will be calculated as a percentage of Fund Value and will be allocated as additional units to your Fund starting from the end of the 10^th policy year and every 5 years thereafter provided all due premiums under the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan policy have been paid.

Investment strategies and Fund options in ABSLI Wealth Infinia

Under ABSLI Wealth Infinia, you can choose to invest your premiums in one of the five investment strategies.

i.) Systematic Transfer Option

Your premium shall be first allocated to the Liquid Plus fund option and thereafter monthly 1/12th or weekly 1/48th of the allocated amount shall be transferred to a segregated fund(s) of your choice.

The percentage allocated to chosen fund(s) is in increments of 1%, ranging from 5% to 100%. The total allocation across all funds must be 100%

You can choose up to a maximum of four segregated funds out of;

Income Advantage
Enhancer
Maximiser
Super 20
Capped Nifty Index
Multiplier
Value & Momentum
Creator
MNC
ESG Fund
Small Cap Fund

ii.) Return Optimiser Investment Option

Basic premiums are invested in the Maximiser fund and it will be tracked every day for any gains. The gain from the Maximiser fund reaches 10% or more of the net invested amount, the amount equal to the appreciation will be transferred to the Income Advantage fund.

Thus, the gains are protected from future market volatility.

iii.) Self-Managed Option

The ABSLI Wealth Smart Plus Plan policyholder has the full freedom to control & switch from one segregated fund to another among 18 segregated funds.

The only requirement is that the percentage allocated to any fund be in increments of 1%, ranging from 5% to 100%. The total allocation across all funds must be 100%.

S.no	Fund Name	Risk Profile	Asset Allocation
			Debt	Money market	Equities
1	Liquid plus	Very low	20-100%	0-80%	–
2	Income Advantage	Very low	60-100%	0-40%	–
3	Assure	Very low	20-100%	0-80%	–
4	Protector	Low	90-100%	0-40%	0-10%
5	Builder	Low	80-100%	0-40%	10-20%
6	Enhancer	Medium	25-80%	0-40%	20-35%
7	Creator	Medium	50-70%	0-40%	30-50%
8	Asset Allocator	High	10-80%	0-40%	10-80%
9	Magnifier	High	10-50%	0-40%	50-90%
10	Maximiser	High	0-20%	0-20%	80-100%
11	Multiplier	High	0-20%	0-20%	80-100%
12	Super 20	High	0-20%	0-20%	80-100%
13	Pure equity	High	0-20%	0-20%	80-100%
14	Value & Momentum	High	0-20%	0-20%	80-100%
15	Capped Nifty index	High	0-10%	0-10%	90-100%
16	MNC	High	0-20%	0-20%	80-100%
17	ESG Fund	High	0-20%	0-20%	80-100%
18	Small-cap Fund	High	0-20%	0-20%	80-100%
			Govt Sec	Money market	Equities
	Linked discontinued policy fund	Very low	60-100%	0-40%	–

iv.) Smart Investment option

Your portfolio will be structured as per your maturity date and risk profile (Conservative, Moderate, Aggressive). Your Annualized Premium (net of premium allocation charge) is allocated between the two funds – Maximiser (equity fund) and Income Advantage (debt fund) in a predetermined proportion.

Over time the allocation is managed such that it will automatically switch from riskier assets to safer assets progressively as your ABSLI Wealth Smart Plus Plan approaches maturity.

The proportion invested in Maximiser (equity fund) and Income Advantage (debt fund) will be according to the schedule given below:

Outstanding Term to Maturity	Aggressive		Moderate		Conservative
	Maximiser	Income Advantage	Maximiser	Income Advantage	Maximiser	Income Advantage
21 & above	90%	10%	70%	30%	50%	50%
16 to 20	80%	20%	60%	40%	40%	60%
8 to 15	65%	35%	50%	50%	30%	70%
4 to 7	50%	50%	25%	75%	15%	85%
0 to 3	20%	80%	10%	90%	5%	95%

Your portfolio will be structured as per your age and risk profile – you need to decide on your risk profile – Conservative, Moderate or Aggressive. The funds will be shifted from riskier assets to safer assets progressively with your age.

v.) Life Cycle Investment Option

Your Annualized Premium (net of premium allocation charge) is allocated between the two funds, Maximiser (Equity Fund) and Income Advantage (Debt Fund) in a predetermined proportion based on the selected risk profile and your age when the premium is invested.

The percentage allocation to Maximiser according to age and risk profile is as given below:

Age Group	Aggressive	Moderate	Conservative
1 to 30	90%	70%	50%
31 to 40	80%	60%	50%
41 to 50	70%	50%	30%
51 to 60	55%	35%	15%
61 to 70	40%	20%	0%
71 +	25%	5%	0%

What are the charges under the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan?

A. Premium Allocation Charge

A Premium Allocation Charge is levied on the Annualized Premium and it is as follows:

	% of the single / Annualized premium received
Policy Year	Single pay	Milestone variant	Legacy Variant
1	4%	6%	6%
2 to 3	NIL	5%	5%
4 to 10	NIL	4%	5%
11+	NIL	NIL	NIL

B. Fund Management Charge

1.00% p.a. for Liquid Plus, Income Advantage, Assure, Protector and Builder

1.25% p.a. for Enhancer, Creator, Capped Nifty Index, Asset Allocation

1.35% p.a. for MNC, Magnifier, Maximiser, Multiplier, Super 20, Pure Equity, ESG Fund and Small Cap Fund and Value & Momentum

0.50% p.a. for Linked Discontinued Policy Fund

C. Policy Administration Charge

NIL

D. Mortality charge

It is based on the sum at risk and is deducted at the start of each month by the proportionate cancellation of units from each fund under the ABSLI Wealth Smart Plus Plan policy at the time. The charge per 1000 of Sum at Risk will depend on the gender and attained age of the Life Insured.

Attained Age	Age 25	Age 35	Age 45	Age 55	Age 65
Male	0.74	0.96	2.06	6.01	12.75
Female	0.75	0.83	1.58	4.44	10.26

E. Miscellaneous Charges

NIL

F. Surrender Charges

The charge on discontinuance or surrender of the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan policy will be based on the year of discontinuance/surrender, the premium amount and the fund value.

Inference from the charges: The charges mentioned above are additional costs to the investor. In general, other market-linked products do not impose substantial charges, which makes the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan unattractive.

Grace period, Policy Discontinuance and Revival of ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan

Grace Period

You will be given a Grace Period of 30 days to make the payment of the due instalment premium(s).

Policy Discontinuance

Discontinuance during the first five policy years: the Fund Value after deducting the applicable discontinuance /surrender charges shall be credited to the Linked Discontinued Policy Fund and the risk cover, if any, shall cease immediately.

The proceeds in the Linked Discontinued Policy Fund shall be paid to you at the end of the revival period or lock-in period whichever is later.

Discontinuance after the first five policy years: your policy shall be converted into a reduced paid-up policy with the Reduced paid-up Sum Assured i.e. original Sum Assured multiplied by the total number of Annualized Premiums paid to the original number of Annualized Premiums payable as per the terms and conditions of the policy.

Revival

You can revive the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan policy within the revival period of three years.

Free Look period of ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan

You will have the right to return your ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan Policy within 30 days from the date of receipt of the Policy, in case you disagree with the terms and conditions of your Policy.

Surrendering ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan

Single pay

You will have an option to surrender your ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan policy any time during the lock-in period of five years from the date of inception of the policy.

Upon receipt of the request for surrender, your Fund Value, after deducting the applicable discontinuance /surrender charges, shall be credited to the Linked Discontinued Policy Fund which is payable at the end of the lock-in period.

Discontinuance after the first five policy years: You will have an option to surrender the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan policy at any time during the policy term. Upon receipt of the request for surrender, the Fund Value as on the date of surrender shall be paid to you

Regular / Limited pay

Surrendering during the first five policy years: you will have an option to surrender the policy anytime but, the proceeds in the Linked Discontinued Policy Fund shall be payable at the end of the lock-in period or date of surrender whichever is later.

Surrendering after the first five policy years: you will have an option to surrender the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan policy anytime and the Fund Value shall be payable upon receipt of such request of surrender.

What are the advantages of the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan?

There is no limit on the number of switches under the Self-managed Option that can be made in a policy year, and all switches are free of charge.
After the first policy year, you can change from one investment option to another.
Under the Self-Managed option, you can choose to redirect future premiums.
After completing the first five policy years, you have the option to decrease the premium by up to 50% of the original amount.
You will have the option to reduce or increase the Premium Payment term
Unlimited partial withdrawals from the fund value are allowed at any time after five complete policy years, provided the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan policyholder is at least 18 years old.
For the maturity benefit, you may opt for a Settlement Option, where the company will continue to manage the funds and make periodic payments for up to 5 years.
Systematic Withdrawal Facility (SWF) is an automated partial withdrawal facility that can be opted by you anytime during the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan policy term.

What are the disadvantages of the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan?

Policy loans are not permitted under this ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan.
There is no liquidity available during the first ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan policy years.
Although the plan refunds some of the charges, it does not account for the time value of money.

Research Methodology of ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan

After analysing the plan’s features, as an investor you need to evaluate the performance of the plan. Estimating the potential returns will allow us to compare the returns with other similar investments. Let us work out the Internal Rate of Return using the figures given in the policy brochure.

Benefit Illustration – IRR Analysis of ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan

A 35-year-old male buys ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan with a sum assured of ₹ 20 Lakhs. The policy term is 20 years and the premium paying term is 10 years. The premium amount is ₹ 2 Lakhs. He chooses the Mile-stone variant.

Male	35 years
Sum Assured	₹ 20,00,000
Policy Term	20 years
Premium Paying Term	10 years
Annualised Premium	₹ 2,00,000

On payment of the regular premium, he will get the fund value as a maturity benefit. The illustrations show two assumed rates of future investment returns: 8% p.a. and 4% p.a. These rates are not guaranteed and do not represent the upper or lower limits of potential returns.

		At 4% p.a.		At 8% p.a.
Age	Year	Annualised premium / Maturity benefit	Death benefit	Annualised premium / Maturity benefit	Death benefit
35	1	-2,00,000	20,00,000	-2,00,000	20,00,000
36	2	-2,00,000	20,00,000	-2,00,000	20,00,000
37	3	-2,00,000	20,00,000	-2,00,000	20,00,000
38	4	-2,00,000	20,00,000	-2,00,000	20,00,000
39	5	-2,00,000	20,00,000	-2,00,000	20,00,000
40	6	-2,00,000	20,00,000	-2,00,000	20,00,000
41	7	-2,00,000	20,00,000	-2,00,000	20,00,000
42	8	-2,00,000	20,00,000	-2,00,000	20,00,000
43	9	-2,00,000	20,00,000	-2,00,000	20,00,000
44	10	-2,00,000	20,00,000	-2,00,000	20,00,000
45	11	0	20,00,000	0	20,00,000
46	12	0	20,00,000	0	20,00,000
47	13	0	20,00,000	0	20,00,000
48	14	0	20,00,000	0	20,00,000
49	15	0	20,00,000	0	20,00,000
50	16	0	20,00,000	0	20,00,000
51	17	0	20,00,000	0	20,00,000
52	18	0	20,00,000	0	20,00,000
53	19	0	20,00,000	0	20,00,000
54	20	0	20,00,000	0	20,00,000
55		30,88,332	20,00,000	55,82,791	20,00,000

	IRR	2.82%		6.73%

At a 4% return scenario, the fund value is ₹30.88 lakhs with an IRR of 2.82%, essentially providing no value addition. At an 8% return scenario, the fund value is ₹55.82 lakhs with an IRR of 6.73% as per the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan maturity calculator.

The returns of the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan are not on par with other market-linked investments. The risk is high but the returns are similar to debt instruments, making it unworthy of the risk taken. This risk-return aspect is lacking in the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan.

ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan Vs. Other Investments

The ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan does not effectively support long-term wealth accumulation. Additionally, the sum assured is too low.

To achieve comprehensive coverage and accumulate a substantial corpus, an alternative investment strategy, where insurance and investment are handled separately, should be considered. Using the previous example, we will compare the returns of this strategy.

ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan Vs. Pure-term + ELSS

A pure-term life insurance policy with a sum assured of ₹20 lakhs costs ₹16,600 p.a. The policy term is 20 years, with a premium paying term of 10 years.

Under the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan, this would cost ₹2 lakhs in premiums. By opting for a pure-term life insurance policy, you save ₹1,83,400 p.a., which can be invested for wealth accumulation.

Pure Term Life Insurance Policy
Sum Assured	₹ 20,00,000
Policy Term	20 years
Premium Paying Term	10 years
Annualised Premium	₹ 16,600
Investment	₹ 1,83,400

Investment vehicles should be selected prudently based on your risk profile. Here, we choose a market-related investment – an ELSS fund. These investments are eligible for tax deductions, though redemptions are subject to capital gains tax.

		Term insurance + ELSS
Age	Year	Term Insurance premium + ELSS	Death benefit
35	1	-2,00,000	20,00,000
36	2	-2,00,000	20,00,000
37	3	-2,00,000	20,00,000
38	4	-2,00,000	20,00,000
39	5	-2,00,000	20,00,000
40	6	-2,00,000	20,00,000
41	7	-2,00,000	20,00,000
42	8	-2,00,000	20,00,000
43	9	-2,00,000	20,00,000
44	10	-2,00,000	20,00,000
45	11	0	20,00,000
46	12	0	20,00,000
47	13	0	20,00,000
48	14	0	20,00,000
49	15	0	20,00,000
50	16	0	20,00,000
51	17	0	20,00,000
52	18	0	20,00,000
53	19	0	20,00,000
54	20	0	20,00,000
55		1,00,40,935	20,00,000

	IRR	10.67%

The pre-tax value of the ELSS fund is ₹1.11 crore. After accounting for capital gains tax, the maturity value is ₹1 crore. The IRR for the ELSS investment combined with a pure-term life insurance policy is 10.67% (post-tax return).

ELSS Tax Calculation
Maturity value after 20 years	1,11,95,498
Purchase price	18,34,000
Long-Term Capital Gains	93,61,498
Exemption limit	1,25,000
Taxable LTCG	92,36,498
Tax paid on LTCG	11,54,562
Maturity value after tax	1,00,40,935

This accumulated corpus can help you comfortably achieve your life goals, as the returns are higher than the economic inflation rate.

This investment strategy is more effective because both the insurance and investment components operate at their best when not combined. The low risk-adjusted return and inadequate sum assured make the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan less suitable.

Final Verdict on ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan

The ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan fails to effectively serve both investment and insurance purposes. The return analysis shows it rarely helps in achieving the necessary corpus to meet life goals. High charges reduce your investment amount, adversely affecting returns.

The insurance coverage provided is inadequate, lacking proper backup for eventualities. A robust safety net is crucial in financial planning, which the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan does not offer.

Essentially, this plan falls short in every aspect, making it unworthy of the associated risk and also it has a high agent commission.

For effective life cover and wealth accumulation, it’s better to opt for a pure-term life insurance policy and build a diversified investment portfolio. This approach works well, as it avoids the complications of combining insurance and investment.

Do Quora, Facebook, and Twitter have the final say when it comes to financial advice?

Always assess any investment thoroughly before proceeding. Consult a Certified Financial Planner for assistance in building a resilient investment portfolio based on your risk appetite, time horizon, and life goals.

ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan: Good or Bad? An Insightful ULIP Review

Table of Contents:

What is the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan?

What are the features of the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan?

Who is eligible for the ABSLI Wealth Infinia Plan?