As a senior citizen you won’t have a steady source of income and you may find your expenses increasing over time, especially those pertaining to healthcare. Keeping this as well as rising rates of inflation in mind, it is important that you not only spend cautiously and save, but also invest. In order to provide for your needs and avoid any compromise during your retirement years, it is important that you look into the various investment options for senior citizens.What is the ideal asset mix for retirement, then? What ratio between stocks, bonds, cash, and other investment vehicles should you distribute your resources?
First of all, realize that they are merely general best practices. The optimum retirement portfolio allocation strategy for you will include fewer equities and more bonds if you’re aiming to reduce risk as much as you can and accept a reduced standard of living. Check here for the best asset allocation in retirement.
If you don’t know where to start, consider these investment options for senior citizens. A mix of these will help you secure your future.
Senior citizen fixed deposit scheme
A senior citizen fixed deposit scheme is one of the best investment options for you as it is completely safe and offers assured returns. It is offered by banks and NBFCs but choosing the latter is ideal as it offers a higher rate of interest. What’s more, as a senior citizen you further enjoy greater FD interest rates.
For example, when you invest in a cumulative Fixed Deposit for at least 36 months, you can earn up to 9.10% as interest whereas the regular FD earns 8.75%. In addition, you can choose a tenor that suits you, invest online, and enjoy an increase in interest rate when you renew your FD as well. By using an FD calculator, you can calculate the exact amount that you will receive upon maturity of your investment.
Senior Citizen Saving Scheme (SCSS)
As the name suggests, SCSS is tailored to suit your post-retirement needs and is offered by banks and post offices. Since it is a government scheme, it is completely risk-free as well. You can deposit a maximum amount of Rs.15 lakh singly or jointly, or the amount that you receive on retirement, whichever is lower. Its interest rate is revised every quarter, and currently investing in SCSS offers 8.7% as returns. Besides, under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, you can claim a deduction amounting to Rs.1.5 lakh in the year in which you made the investment.
National Savings Certificate (NSC)
NSCs are offered by post offices, yield good returns as well as ensure safeguard your money. You can invest in NSC with a minimum amount of Rs.100. There is no limit of the maximum amount, but you have to invest in the multiples of Rs.100 and your investment is locked in for a tenor of 5 or 10 years. NSC offers an attractive interest of 8% as well as a tax deduction of up to Rs.1.5 lakh under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. In addition, you can use your NSC as collateral and take a loan from select financial institutions.
Equity-Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS)
Though ELSS is not tailormade for senior citizens, you can enjoy the many benefits that it offers as long as you invest smartly and only divert a small portion of your investment corpus here. This is because as ELSS is volatile, carries higher risk, and isn’t as safe as a senior citizen fixed deposit scheme or an NSC. ELSS is a diversified equity mutual fund in which your money is invested in equities. These have a lock-in period of 3 years and allow you to invest in a lump sum or in the form of SIPs (Systematic Investment Plans). By investing in ELSS and taking on a degree of risk you can earn returns around 12–18%, as well as enjoy tax benefits.
While you don’t have to work day in and day out anymore, working on your finances will certainly help you secure your financial feature, allowing you to enjoy your golden years without any worries.
