If you are planning to retire soon or you are someone who wishes to invest for your parent who is about to retire, you would have come across a range of investment products. To retire without any financial burdens, it is essential to choose the investment plan wisely. You should ensure that you receive a steady income and decent returns from the investment to look after the post-retirement expenses. In India, there are a host of investment options available for the senior citizens of the country. Some of the prominent investment options are Fixed deposit (FD) for the senior citizen, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS), Pension Schemes, etc.

Factors to Consider while Choosing Investment Options for Senior Citizens

Below mentioned are a few factors you must consider while purchasing an investment option for senior citizens:

Look for Risk-Free Investments

There are two types of investment options in India they are volatile market-linked investment options and risk-free investment options. When you invest in market-linked investments, you get returns based on the market rates which can fluctuate accordingly. If you invest in secure investment options, the interest rates are fixed, and so you will receive guaranteed returns for your investments. Senior citizens wish for a peaceful life after retirement. Due to this reason, it is advisable to look for risk-free investments.

Choose the Right Plan

Insecure investment options, you can find a range of plans based on interest rates, tenor, and other benefits. You need to choose the right plan based on your financial health and your requirements.

Go for Medium Risk Investment Options

In case you wish for high returns from the retirement corpus, you can choose to invest in equity-backed investment options. However, you should make sure to diversify your investments wherein majority of the investments be in secure investment options and a portion be in market-linked investments. By doing so, you can earn high returns as well as keep a financial backup for your retirement expenses.

Check for tax-free Investment Options

There are various investment options available in India that offer tax benefits and tax exemptions. You need to choose an investment option that offers such a facility to get the maximum benefits from your investment.

Determine the Flexibility of the Investment Option

While choosing to invest your money, you must make sure that the investment options offer the required flexibility like the option to choose the tenor and such. Also, the investment option must allow you to withdraw your money when required even if you need to pay a penalty charge for the same. In fact, some investment options provide the facility to make partial withdrawals in case of emergencies. You need to choose your plan based on the flexibility for a better experience.

What is the Best Available Secure Investment Option in India?

The most secure investment option in India is Fixed Deposit from the past few decades. Although previously, only bank FDs were reliable, nowadays NBFCs (Non-Banking Financial Companies) like Bajaj Finance offers a broad array of financial products with attractive benefits. Below mentioned are the benefits of investing in FD for a senior citizen with Bajaj Finance:

• 0.35 increased FD interest rates for senior citizens.
• Guaranteed returns without the influence of market rate fluctuations.
• Flexibility to choose FD tenor from 12 months to 60 months.
• Option to deposit a sum as low as Rs. 25,000.
• Calculate FD returns and FD interest rates from anywhere using the online FD calculator.
• Choose the type of FD from cumulative and non-cumulative FD.
• Open multiple FDs with different tenor at the same time and ladder your investments.
• Make partial withdrawals with a nominal penalty charge.
• Take loan against FD by using 90% of the accrued funds.
• Get 24/7 customer service availability.
• Get efficient and effective follow-up facility in the form of e-mail and SMS networking by the company. This facility is provided from the date of request to the date of maturity under this scheme.
• This scheme supports payment through electronic (Real Time Gross Settlement [RTGS]) and physical (payment by cheque) methods.