NEW DELHI: With April 1 marking the commencement of a new financial year, there comes revisions to various regulations. IRDAI has announced changes in policy surrender value, effective from April 1. As per the new rules, surrender values are expected to either remain same or decrease if policies are surrendered within three years of purchase. Surrendering policies between fourth and seventh year may result in a minor increase in the surrender value.
Under the new rules, specific percentages of total premiums will be paid out based on year of surrender. If a policy is surrendered during the second year, 30% of the total premiums will be paid. Surrendering a policy in the third year will lead to 35% of total premiums being paid out. For policies surrendered between the fourth and seventh year, 50% of total premiums will be paid. Surrendering in last two years will result in 90% of total premiums being paid out. In case of non-single premium life insurance policies, a guaranteed surrender value will be provided after consistent premium payments for at least two consecutive years.
From April 1, new regulation states when an individual switches jobs, their old Provident Fund (PF) balance will be automatically shifted to the new employer. Previously, despite holding a Universal Account Number (UAN), individuals had to undergo the process of requesting PF transfers. The default tax regime has shifted to the new regime. Opting out of old tax regime will result in automatic taxation under new regime. Income tax rules were amended from April 1, 2023. In the new tax regime, individuals earning up to Rs 7 lakh annually are exempt from paying taxes.
An important change regarding FASTag has been implemented from April 1. NHAI’s ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ initiative aims to deter the practice of using a single FASTag for multiple vehicles or linking multiple FASTags to one vehicle. Enhancing National Pension System (NPS) security, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has mandated a new security layer, two-factor Aadhaar-based authentication, for all password-based users accessing the CRA system starting April 1, 2024. This directive was highlighted in a circular dated March 15, 2024, by the PFRDA.