You can soon expect calls from life insurance agents hard-selling unit-linked pension plans (ULPPs) once again. ULPPs have been out of circulation for a while, after the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) imposed a guaranteed-returns clause on them last September.

The authority has now relaxed its norms on guarantees. The new norms, to be effective from December 31, could trigger a partial revival of the pension Ulips category.

Planning for your child's future is no child's play. It calls for considerable investment of time and effort to work out the details. Ideally, you have to go through the entire process of financial planning - right from identifying the goal to deciding on the asset allocation plan; reviewing the performance, recasting the portfolio and so on - just as you would do for your retirement planning.

THE RIGHT TIME TO START

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) chief J Hari Narayan has expressed concerns over the low protection component in the traditional insurance products. Traditional plans are life insurance plans that give you insurance cover plus a bonus on maturity or the insured amount to your dependants on your death.