Bandhan Life Secure 'N' Grow
Can the Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow Plan truly help you grow your wealth while securing your family’s financial future, or does it come with important trade-offs?
Does the Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow Plan offer the right balance between financial protection and long-term savings, or are there better alternatives available?
Is the Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow Plan a smart choice for achieving your financial goals, or could its features and restrictions limit your investment potential?
This article takes a closer look at the plan by analysing its key features, benefits, limitations, and potential returns to assess whether it genuinely offers an effective strategy for long-term wealth creation.
What is the Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow?
What are the features of the Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow?
Who is eligible for the Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow?
Research Methodology of the Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow
Benefit Illustration – IRR Analysis of Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow
Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow Vs. Other Investments
Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow Vs. Pure-term + PPF/Mutual Fund
Final Verdict on the Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow
Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow is a combination solution comprising two Bandhan Life plans:
Bandhan Life iGuarantee Vishwas – a non-linked, non-participating life insurance individual savings plan. This component is designed to ensure that the maturity benefit meets or exceeds the total premiums paid across both plans, helping safeguard your invested capital.
Bandhan Life iInvest II – a unit-linked non-participating individual life insurance savings plan. This component gives you the opportunity to invest in market-linked funds and participate in long-term growth potential.
| Entry Age | 3 Years to 50 Years |
| Maturity Age | 18 Years to 65 Years |
| Policy Term | 15 Years |
| Premium Payment Term | 10 Years |
| Premium Payment Mode | Annually |
Before investing in the Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow Plan, it is important to evaluate whether the returns justify the product’s structure.
Since the plan combines life insurance with a market-linked investment component and capital protection, the actual return generated on the premium paid becomes a critical factor in assessing its suitability for long-term wealth creation.
To assess the return potential, we calculate the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) based on the benefit illustration provided in the Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow Plan policy brochure.
Consider a 40-year-old male opting for the plan with a sum assured of ₹20 lakh, an annual premium of ₹2 lakh, a 15-year policy term, and a 10-year premium payment term.
| Male | 40 years |
| Sum Assured | ₹ 20,00,000 |
| Policy Term | 15 years |
| Premium Paying Term | 10 years |
| Annualised Premium | ₹ 2,00,000 |
The benefit illustration presents two assumed return scenarios of 4% p.a. and 8% p.a. These are only illustrative projections and are not guaranteed returns.
The actual fund value will depend on market performance, fund selection and investment management.
| At 4% p.a. | At 8% p.a. | ||||
| Age | Year | Annualised premium / Maturity benefit | Death benefit | Annualised premium / Maturity benefit | Death benefit |
| 40 | 1 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 41 | 2 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 42 | 3 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 43 | 4 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 44 | 5 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 45 | 6 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 46 | 7 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 47 | 8 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 48 | 9 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 49 | 10 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 50 | 11 | 0 | 20,00,000 | 0 | 20,00,000 |
| 51 | 12 | 0 | 20,00,000 | 0 | 20,00,000 |
| 52 | 13 | 0 | 20,00,000 | 0 | 20,00,000 |
| 53 | 14 | 0 | 20,00,000 | 0 | 20,00,000 |
| 54 | 15 | 0 | 20,00,000 | 0 | 20,00,000 |
| 55 | 31,35,406 | 36,92,491 | |||
| IRR | 4.30% | 5.88% | |||
At a 4% projected return:
The maturity value is approximately ₹31.35 lakh, translating into an IRR of 4.30% as per the Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow Plan maturity calculator.
Such a return is modest and may not be compelling when compared with relatively lower-risk debt-oriented investment options.
At an 8% projected return:
The maturity value rises to approximately ₹36.92 lakh, translating into an IRR of 5.88% as per the Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow Plan maturity calculator.
Although the plan offers market-linked exposure, the investor bears the associated investment risk. However, the return generated is disproportionate to the level of risk undertaken.
The relatively low IRR can be attributed to the bundled structure of the product. The premium is not entirely available for investment.
A portion goes towards providing life insurance and capital protection, while applicable charges further reduce the amount available for market-linked investment.
As a result, the investor gets exposure to market-linked growth, but only on a reduced investment base. This can significantly dilute the benefits of compounding over the long term and may leave the investor with substantially lower wealth than a more efficient combination of pure term insurance and a separate investment product.
In a nutshell, Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow attempts to combine protection, capital guarantee and market-linked growth in a single product.
However, the return analysis suggests that this convenience may come at the cost of wealth creation. For long-term financial goals, it is therefore important to assess whether the product genuinely enhances returns or merely combines multiple features at the expense of investment efficiency.
The Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow Plan falls short of its core objective — efficient wealth accumulation. A more effective strategy can potentially deliver better outcomes using the same annual outlay of ₹2 lakh.
Instead of committing the entire amount to a bundled insurance-and-investment product, the premium can be strategically divided between pure term insurance and a separate investment.
For life insurance, consider a pure-term insurance policy with a sum assured of ₹2 lakh, a 15-year policy term and a 10-year premium payment term.
The annual premium is ₹11,500. After paying the term insurance premium, ₹1,88,500 remains available for investment each year. This amount can be directed towards an investment avenue based on the investor’s risk appetite and financial objectives.
| Pure Term Life Insurance Policy | |
| Sum Assured | ₹ 20,00,000 |
| Policy Term | 15 years |
| Premium Paying Term | 10 years |
| Annualised Premium | ₹ 11,500 |
| Investment | ₹ 1,88,500 |
A risk-averse investor may consider debt-oriented investments, while an investor willing to accept higher market risk may consider equity-oriented investments.
For this illustration, we consider PPF as the debt-oriented option and an equity mutual fund as the market-linked option.
| Term Insurance + PPF | Term insurance + Equity Mutual Fund | ||||
| Age | Year | Term Insurance premium + PPF | Death benefit | Term Insurance premium + Equity Mutual Fund | Death benefit |
| 40 | 1 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 41 | 2 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 42 | 3 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 43 | 4 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 44 | 5 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 45 | 6 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 46 | 7 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 47 | 8 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 48 | 9 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 49 | 10 | -1,97,500 | 20,00,000 | -2,00,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 50 | 11 | -500 | 20,00,000 | 0 | 20,00,000 |
| 51 | 12 | -500 | 20,00,000 | 0 | 20,00,000 |
| 52 | 13 | -500 | 20,00,000 | 0 | 20,00,000 |
| 53 | 14 | -500 | 20,00,000 | 0 | 20,00,000 |
| 54 | 15 | -500 | 20,00,000 | 0 | 20,00,000 |
| 55 | 39,48,398 | 59,64,370 | |||
| IRR | 6.53% | 10.53% | |||
Debt-Oriented Approach – PPF
PPF requires a minimum annual contribution of ₹500 to keep the account active. In this illustration, the required contributions are adjusted during the final years to comply with the minimum annual contribution requirement.
The investment accumulates to approximately ₹39.48 lakh at maturity, translating into an IRR of 6.53%.
Equity-Oriented Approach – Equity Mutual Fund
The equity mutual fund investment grows to approximately ₹65.29 lakh before tax. After accounting for applicable capital gains tax, the corpus reduces to approximately ₹59.64 lakh.
The combined strategy of pure-term insurance and equity mutual fund investment generates a post-tax IRR of 10.53%. This is substantially higher than the return generated by the Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow Plan in the illustrated scenarios.
| Equity Mutual Fund Tax Calculation | |
| Maturity value after 15 years | 65,29,280 |
| Purchase price | 18,85,000 |
| Long-Term Capital Gains | 46,44,280 |
| Exemption limit | 1,25,000 |
| Taxable LTCG | 45,19,280 |
| Tax paid on LTCG | 5,64,910 |
| Maturity value after tax | 59,64,370 |
The comparison highlights an important principle of financial planning: insurance and investment serve different purposes and need not necessarily be combined in a single product.
A pure-term policy can provide the required life protection at a relatively lower cost, while the remaining amount can be invested according to the investor’s risk profile and return expectations.
The resulting corpus is significantly higher, and the post-tax IRR of 10.53% has greater potential to outpace inflation over the long term.
Therefore, rather than accepting the compromises inherent in a bundled product, investors may benefit from keeping life insurance and wealth creation separate and allowing each component to perform its intended role.
The Bandhan Life Secure ‘N’ Grow Plan combines three elements in a single product — life insurance, market-linked investment, and capital protection.
The plan’s proposition is that investors do not have to choose between safety and growth because they can have both. While this may sound attractive, the analysis suggests that combining these features comes with significant compromises.
Despite being positioned as a long-term wealth-creation solution, the plan’s projected returns are relatively low.
The market-linked component does not generate returns commensurate with the investment risk, while the long-term structure can also limit liquidity. At the same time, the life insurance cover may be inadequate to meet the actual protection needs of a family.
This leaves the investor with suboptimal returns, limited liquidity, and an inefficient life cover — making the overall proposition less compelling for long-term financial planning.
A more efficient approach is to keep insurance and investment separate:
This approach provides greater transparency, flexibility and control, while allowing the investment component to focus exclusively on wealth creation.
Ultimately, a product that attempts to provide safety, protection and growth in one package may not necessarily deliver the best outcome in any of these areas.
Insurance is meant to protect your family, while investments are meant to build wealth. Keeping these objectives separate can help each serve its intended purpose more effectively.
Do Quora, Facebook, and Twitter have the final say when it comes to financial advice?
For a strategy aligned with your specific financial goals, risk profile and time horizon, it is advisable to consult a qualified financial advisor.
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