Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance receives IRDAI approval for first-of-its-kind Index Linked Annuity product
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, February 25, 2026: Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited (“ABSLI”), the life insurance subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital, India’s leading diversified financial services company, today announced that it has received IRDAI’s approval for ABSLI Index Guaranteed Annuity Plus – a Single or Limited/ Regular premium index linked annuity plan. This plan is designed to provide lifetime retirement income with a combination of guaranteed and variable annuity which is linked to the performance of “Nifty 50” benchmark Index. The launch of this product is planned in March 2026.
The plan offers flexibility to customise the proportion of guaranteed and variable annuity components, enabling the policyholders to balance income stability with growth potential. Furthermore, policyholders will have the option to receive annuity income immediately or defer the pay-outs based on individual retirement planning needs.
Customers can choose:
1. Life Annuity, which provides guaranteed income for life
2. Life Annuity with Return of Purchase Price, which ensures lifelong income with return of purchase price on death to the nominee
3. Deferred Life Annuity with Return of Premium, which allows customers to start income at later date and build a higher retirement income with return of all the premiums paid on death to the nominee
Mr. Kamlesh Rao, MD & CEO, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited, said, “We sincerely thank IRDAI for their concurrence on this unique product proposition, which we believe will benefit all stakeholders. At ABSLI, our focus is on empowering customers with solutions that support financial independence and security across life stages, including retirement. ABSLI Index Guaranteed Annuity Plus enables customers to tailor their retirement income for lifetime through a combination of guaranteed and variable annuity pay‑outs, helping them build a stable and personalised retirement solution.
Once launched, the plan will be available to individuals aged between 40 and 80 years, subject to the selected plan option, offering flexibility across life stages. Customers can choose to pay premiums either as a Single or Limited/Regular premium‑payment term ranging from 2 to 10 years.
ABSLI’s newly approved Index-Linked Annuity Plan represents a significant step forward in retirement planning. If a customer buys this upcoming Index-Linked Annuity Plan at age 50, pays premiums for 10 years with 60:40 component of Guaranteed and Variable annuity, and starts receiving annual annuity from age 60, the annuity rate is expected to be higher than the fully guaranteed annuity plan. In this example, our existing fully guaranteed annuity plan offers a fixed annuity rate of 8.91% for lifetime while the new Index-Linked annuity plan could offer 11.64% in the first year itself based on the Historical return of the benchmark index “Nifty 50” and in the subsequent years annuity rates tied to market performance. This means the customer enjoys a delta of 2.73% in annuity rate, translating into higher retirement income potential demonstrating how the new plan combines the guarantee with the opportunity for growth, giving customers best of both worlds.
Insights from the ABSLI अ‑Nishchit Index 2.0 reveal that retirement anxiety in India is increasingly shaped by preparedness gaps, ranging from insufficient planning and rising healthcare costs to concerns around inflation and financial independence in old age. Against this backdrop, ABSLI Index Guaranteed Annuity Plus has been designed to help customers navigate these uncertainties by offering a stable, adaptable and future‑ready retirement income.
