LIC New Bima Jyoti (Plan 890) and Jeevan Labh (Plan 736) are two of LIC’s most popular guaranteed savings plans, and buyers often confuse them. Both give you life cover plus a lump sum at the end — but they are built differently, and the right one depends on how much certainty you want.
The core difference in one line
New Bima Jyoti gives you a fixed, fully guaranteed addition every year; Jeevan Labh gives you a variable bonus that LIC declares each year. One is predictable to the rupee; the other depends on future bonus rates.
New Bima Jyoti (890)
Bima Jyoti is a non-participating plan: it does not pay bonuses. Instead it adds a Guaranteed Addition of 6% of your annual premium for every year the policy is in force (buying online or for a high sum assured earns a little more). Because the return is fixed and guaranteed, you know your maturity value up front. Policy terms run 15–20 years, and you pay for five years less than the term. You can see your exact premium and maturity on the New Bima Jyoti calculator.
Jeevan Labh (736)
Jeevan Labh is a participating, limited-premium endowment: you pay for fewer years than the policy runs, and it pays a Simple Reversionary Bonus each year plus a Final Additional Bonus at maturity. The catch is that bonuses are declared by LIC annually and are not guaranteed — so the illustrated maturity can under- or over-shoot. It is designed to hand you a strong tax-free lump sum on a fixed date. Check figures on the Jeevan Labh calculator.
Which should you pick?
Choose New Bima Jyoti if you value certainty and want to know your exact maturity today. Choose Jeevan Labh if you are comfortable with bonus-based returns for a potentially larger lump sum and like finishing your premiums early. Both work out to roughly 5–6% a year — solid and safe, but not growth engines.
The honest caveat
Like all traditional savings plans, both return about 5–6%. For long-term growth, a cheap term plan plus an index fund has historically built more. Use these plans for the guaranteed part of your money, and build your full plan with Plan Banao.
Educational information, not individual advice.