Choosing investment avenues at the present situation of low interest rates and high cost of living one will have to do a lot of homework. As a senior citizen, principal protection followed by regular income is the first priority for your investment decisions. If you are retired from a pensionable job, then your monthly pension is your regular income. Based on your pension income you need to plan your investments like Monthly Income Plan, Quarterly, Half Yearly, or Yearly income.
Safe investment options for senior citizens today are limited in schemes. Based on your needs, you will have to select the schemes. Some schemes offering Monthly Income and others Quarterly, Half Yearly and Yearly. You may consider the following schemes:
| S.No. | Scheme Name | Investment Limit | Period
(inYears) |
Interest(%) /Options | ||
| 1 | Senior Citizen Savings Schemes | 15,00,000/- | 5 | 7.40 | Quarterly | |
| 2 | Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana | 15,00,000/- | 10 | 7.40 | Monthly/QTRLY/YEARLY | |
| 3 | Post Office Monthly Income Scheme | 4,50,000/-
Single 9,00,000/- Jointly |
5 | 6.60 | Monthly | |
| 4 | Post office Time Deposit | No Limit | 1-5 | 5.5 to 6.7 | QUARTERLY | |
| 5 | Bank Fixed Deposits | Up to 30% of Your Corpus | 1-5 | To check with your Bank from time to time | ||
| 6 | Mutual Funds | 20% of your Corpus or more | 3-5 | Moderate Risk to take to generate extra income | ||
| 7 | Direct Equities | 10% of your Corpus or more | 5 years | Select Dividend Paying Companies of Top 10 in terms of Market Capitalization | ||
The first four schemes in the above table are safe investments. Bank Fixed Deposits up to 5 lakh is guaranteed by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation(DICGC) per individual and same ownership. If your deposits are in different banks the principal up to 5 lakh per individual is payable as the insurance is taken by each bank separately.
Post of Monthly Income Scheme(POMIS) having an added advantage. The minimum age is 10 years single name 4.5 lakh or joint with 9 lakh shall be invested. In the case of minors account the withdrawal is possible only on attainment of the 18th birthday of the person.
Mutual Funds give various options: Monthly Income, Systematic Withdrawal Plan, Hybrid Funds, Equity Savings Funds, and Regular Savings Fund. The various options may be reviewed by self or contact your nearest service provider to know more. We provide personalized service. Our website www.shreyasinvest.in provides some briefs about all plans and their past performance.
Direct Equities: Investing in high-quality companies definitely a choice of investment. Market volatility happens in the short term based on events (micro, macro factors) but in the long term, it pays you periodical dividends and capital appreciation. Only you need is brave hearts to protect yourself from market volatility. Happy investing!
