Should I opt for a pension?

My ICICI Pru Elite Pension Plan is maturing on 24.2.15. As on October 15, the fund value is ₹11,22,000. I am 69 years old and my wife is 66. We are comfortably placed in life with an incone of ₹60,000 per month. Both my daughters and son in laws are well placed and they don't want anything and asked us to enjoy all the money we have earned. Against this backdrop, should I opt the pension or withdraw the entire amount (the policy permits it before the maturity date) and invest the money various mutual funds and in the stock market to increase my income? Or should I take the money out and invest in post office Senior Citizen Saving Scheme?
- Venkatesan

ICICI Pru Elite Pension is a Unit Linked Pension Plan. You can withdraw 1/3rd of the accumulated fund tax-free on maturity and buy an annuity with the rest of the money. You are correct that this policy also allows you to surrender before the date of vesting. You need to check the maturity date mentioned in your question. If the date is right, your policy has already matured. But, if the date is incorrect and you still have time, you may consider surrendering it. If you do not need the money, you can invest a part of it in Senior Citizen Saving Scheme (to boost your income) and invest the rest of the money in one or two balanced mutual fund schemes to grow your corpus conservatively.

This article was originally published on October 26, 2015.