LIC Market Plus Plan 181 is one of the older unit‑linked pension plans from Life Insurance Corporation of India. It is a unit‑linked deferred pension scheme that was launched in July 2006 and later withdrawn in April 2008, so new policies cannot be bought now, but existing policyholders still hold this plan.

If you already have an LIC Market Plus 181 policy, you can still use an LIC Market Plus Plan 181 calculator to understand how your corpus is growing, what your death benefit will be, and what you can expect at vesting.

What is LIC Market Plus Plan 181?

LIC Market Plus Plan 181 is a unit‑linked deferred pension plan. This means:

• Your premium is invested in mutual‑fund‑like units (Growth, Balanced, Bond, Secured, etc.).
• Returns depend on the market performance of the chosen fund.
• At maturity (vesting), the fund value converts into a pension or lump sum, depending on your choice.

Plan type:

• Unit‑linked pension plan (ULIP style)
• Deferred pension product (money grows during deferment; pension starts later)

Launch date and withdrawal date

As per LIC records and independent reviews, LIC Market Plus Plan 181 was:

• Launched on 05‑July‑2006.
• Withdrawn on 01‑April‑2008.

This means:

• No new applications will be accepted after April 1, 2008.
• Existing policies continue to run as per the original product terms.
• The NAV and unit values still update from the date of launch, so you can track your fund growth using a Market Plus 181 calculator.

Key plan parameters

These are the basic rules you must know before using any Market Plus 181 calculator:

Parameter	Details
Plan No.	181 – Market Plus
Plan type	Unit‑linked deferred pension (ULIP pension)
Entry age (min)	18 years completed
Entry age (max)	70 years without life cover; 65 years with life cover
Age at vesting (min)	40 years (last birthday)
Age at vesting (max)	75 years (last birthday)
Minimum deferment period	5 years
Mode of premium	Yearly, half‑yearly, quarterly, single premium
Min premium (regular)	₹5,000 per annum
Min premium (single)	₹10,000
Max sum assured (regular)	20 times the annualised premium
Max sum assured (single)	Up to single premium amount

These numbers are important because any LIC Market Plus 181 calculator will ask you to input the following:

• Your age
• Premium amount
• Mode and frequency
• Policy term / deferment period
• Fund type (Growth / Balanced / Bond / Secured)

How does LIC Market Plus 181 work?

The plan works in three simple stages:

1. Premium payment and unit allocation

• After you pay the premium, a portion goes to the unit fund, and the rest covers charges.
• From the unit‑fund portion, LIC buys units at the prevailing NAV (net asset value).
• For Market Plus, NAV is fixed at ₹10 per unit for the first month; later, it changes with the market.

For example:

• If you pay ₹1,00,000 as a single premium, after deducting allocation charges, say ₹3,300, the remaining ₹96,700 goes to the unit fund.
• At ₹10 per unit, you get approximately 9,670 units (rounded to 3 decimals).

This is precisely how an LIC Market Plus Plan 181 calculator computes your initial units and fund‑value growth over time.

2. Charges recovered in units

LIC recovers its charges by cancelling units from your unit account, not by deducting cash.

Main charges include:

• Allocation charges (first year higher, later stabilised).
• Policy administration charges (₹60/month in the first year, ₹20/month from the second year onwards).
• Mortality (life cover) charges, if you have life cover.
• Accident benefit charges, if you have a DAB rider.
• Service tax or GST-like charges (deducted by cancelling units).

A good Market Plus 181 calculator will allow you to adjust expense assumptions so you can see how charges eat into your returns.

3. Fund growth and NAV tracking

LIC updates NAV daily for each fund type:

• Growth Fund (more equity, higher risk–return)
• Balanced Fund (mix of equity and debt)
• Bond Fund (mostly debt instruments)
• Secured Fund (more conservative, lower volatility)

Your policy value at any time is the following:

$$\text{Policy Value} = \text{Number of units} \times \text{Latest NAV}$$Policy Value = Number of Latest NAV

Any LIC Market Plus 181 calculator will:

• Use historical NAV data (from 05‑Jul‑2006 onwards)
• Multiply units × NAV for each year
• Show year-wise growth and project value at vesting

This is why accurate NAV inputs and correct entry dates are very important while using the calculator.

Maturity / vesting benefits in Market Plus 181

On survival till the vesting date, with fully paid premiums (or the last two years’ premiums not paid and the policy not compulsorily surrendered), you get the following:

• Maturity benefit = Full policyholder’s fund value.

You also get two key options:

1. Commutation (lump‑sum cash)

• You can commute up to 1/3rd of the fund value as a lump sum.
• The remaining 2/3rd is used to buy an immediate pension or annuity.

An LIC Market Plus 181 calculator usually shows the following:

• Lump sum on vesting (before or after tax)
• Monthly pension amount based on standard annuity rates

2. Buy pension from another insurer

• You can use your Market Plus fund to buy a pension from any other life insurer in India.
• You must inform LIC at least 6 months before the vesting date.
• LIC will then send a cheque directly to the new pension provider.

This option is useful if you find better annuity rates elsewhere or want flexible pension plans.

Death benefit in LIC Market Plus 181

The death benefit depends on whether your policy has life cover or not.

If policy has life cover

During the deferment period, if the life assured dies:

• Death benefit = Sum assured + Fund value of units in the unit account.

This amount can be taken:

• As a lump sum, or
• As a pension (annuity option).

If policy is without life cover

• Death benefit = Only the fund value of units (no extra life cover).
• Again, this can be given as a lump sum or pension.

If policy has lapsed and no 3‑year premiums

If the policy has lapsed and fewer than 3 years’ premiums were paid:

• Death benefit = Fund value of units at the date of intimation of death.

A Market Plus 181 calculator should also show projected death‑benefit scenarios for different years so you can compare protection vs investment.

Accident benefit rider (DAB) in Market Plus 181

You can add an accident benefit rider (also called a ‘double accident benefit’ – DAB) by paying a small extra premium.

Key points:

• Extra premium = ₹0.50 per ₹1,000 of accident benefit sum assured per year.
• For high-risk jobs (like police), rate may be ₹1.00 per ₹1,000.
• Minimum accident benefit sum assured = ₹25,000.
• Maximum accident benefit sum assured = ₹50,00,000 across all policies.

This rider is very useful if you work in risky jobs or travel a lot. If you include this rider, your LIC Market Plus Plan 181 calculator should show the following:

• Higher total premium
• Higher coverage in case of accidental death
• Exact extra charges deducted as units every month

Using LIC Market Plus 181 calculator (step‑by‑step)

Even though the plan is withdrawn, you can still use a custom or online calculator to understand your

• Future value at vesting
• Year‑wise growth
• Impact of charges
• Death‑benefit scenarios

Basic inputs needed

To get meaningful results, the calculator should take the following:

1. Personal details
   • Age at entry
   • Current age (if already in policy)
   • Vesting age or policy term
2. Premium details
   • Premium amount (₹)
   • Mode: yearly / half‑yearly / quarterly / single
   • If top‑up premium: amount and timing
3. Fund choice
   • Growth / Balanced / Bond / Secured
4. Life cover details
   • Sum assured (with or without life cover)
   • Accident benefit rider (yes/no and amount)
5. Charges assumptions
   • Allocation charges (as per band)
   • Policy admin charges
   • Expected management fee / expense ratio

Sample calculation idea

Suppose:

• Entry age: 35 years
• Premium: ₹50,000 per year (regular, yearly)
• Term: 20 years
• Fund chosen: Growth Fund
• No accident benefit rider

A good LIC Market Plus 181 calculator will:

1. Calculate first‑year units after allocation charges (around 16.5% in the first year for this band).
2. Deduct monthly charges (policy admin, mortality, etc.) by reducing units each month.
3. Use historical or projected NAV for the Growth Fund to compute end‑of‑year units × NAV.
4. Project corpus after 20 years and show:
   • Total fund value
   • Lump sum (1/3rd)
   • Monthly pension (2/3rd)

This helps you answer simple questions like:

• Is my Market Plus 181 growing enough for my retirement?
• Should I stop this plan or continue paying premiums?

Why you should use a Market Plus 181 calculator?

Using a proper LIC Market Plus Plan 181 calculator is important because the following are true:

• It shows real‑time growth: you can see how your NAV has changed from 05‑Jul‑2006 till today.
• You can compare funds: you can see if Growth, Balanced, Bond, or Secured is working better for your risk level.
• You can test scenarios: You can change premium, term, and fund type and see how your pension or lump sum changes.
• You can plan an exit or continuation: if returns are low, you can decide to stop and move to better‑performing products; if returns are good, you can continue.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Conclusion

LIC Market Plus Plan 181 is a unit‑linked deferred pension plan launched on 05‑Jul‑2006 and withdrawn on 01‑Apr‑2008, so only existing policyholders can continue using it.

The plan lets you:

• Invest in Growth, Balanced, Bond, or Secured funds
• Choose with or without life cover
• Get flexible pension or lump sum at vesting
• Add accident benefit rider for extra protection

Using an LIC Market Plus Plan 181 calculator helps you understand:

• How your fund is growing
• What your corpus may be at vesting
• How charges affect your returns
• Whether to continue or exit the plan

If you are a web developer and LIC agent, you can even build your own LIC Market Plus 181 calculator for your website and help customers visualise their pension corpus and death benefits in simple numbers.