UTI makes retirement easy for milkmen & self help grps

Now co-operatives are looking at retirement benefits. 65,000 milkmen and Women's Employment Group members in Patna and Ahmedabad have signed up with UTI Mutual Fund for a Micro-pension scheme.

40,000 Bihari milkmen are banking on a secure retirement. They pay Rs 100 a month through a co-operative to UTI Mutual Fund.

UK Sinha, CMD, UTI MF says, "We have partnered with Compfed and five milk unions. Through this arrangement, every month from the last payment made to them this money will be deducted."

Compfed will invest the money in UTI Retirement Benefit Pension Fund, which invests 60% to 80% of the money in debt and the rest in equity. The fund offers tax benefits under section 80C.

According to the plan, the investors will have to pay until they are 55 years old. They can increase or decrease their contributions. At the age of 58, they can withdraw their investment or sign up for an annuity.

Besides Compfed, 25,000 members of Self Employed Women's Association have signed up for the retirement scheme as well. Compfed has invested Rs 65 lakh and Sewa has put in about Rs 20 lakh.

UTI Mutual Fund aims to enlist one lakh more investors in the scheme in the next six months.

"We are working in Krishnagiri and the neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu. We hope to cover a large number there through Self Help Groups. We are also in advance stages of talks with IFFCO," says Sinha.

More small-ticket investors mean bigger operational costs for the fund. So, it plans to rope in more self-help groups, perhaps with larger contributions. And perhaps bigger payouts!

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