Capital protection

This one is not written up yet

The definition above is the short version. A full explanation — how it works, a worked example and the exam traps — is still being written. In the meantime the chapter below covers it in context.

Written up from the same chapter

• Accumulation stageThe working years, in which saving and investment build the retirement corpus — the stage where the ability to take risk is highest and where time, not contribution size, does most of the work.
• Distribution stageThe retired years, in which the corpus built during working life is converted into periodic income — the stage where protecting capital matters more than growing it, because it can no longer be topped up.
• Five-year service testThe rule that makes an EPF withdrawal tax-free: complete five consecutive years of service and the balance is exempt; withdraw before that and it is taxable, with two exceptions.
• InflationA sustained general rise in the price level, which erodes what a rupee buys — and the reason a nominal return has to be deflated before it means anything.
• Permanent Retirement Account NumberThe unique account number issued when an NPS account is opened; it stays with the subscriber for life and across employers, which is what makes NPS portable in a way EPF historically was not.
• PMT functionThe spreadsheet function that converts a target corpus into the fixed periodic saving needed to reach it — the arithmetic behind every "how much should I invest a month" answer.