Investment Tips for Senior Citizens

Investment Tips for Senior Citizens

For everyone, decisions on financial investments are becoming a nightmare, at times confusing, scary, fraught with uneasiness. Especially so for retirees where inflow is decreasing year after year and the need to save increases. Here are some practical tips, especially in understanding the broad principles behind parking your funds, from Justice TNC Rangarajan, based on his experience,  as a quote, if I may say so:

I cannot say I have mastered it. I have also lost in mutual fund. I don't think anyone can time the market.I think I have understood the principles underlying investment. The basics are

• Keeping the money at home is loss of interest income.

• So keep some cash for immediate needs and keep the rest in the bank account.

• Now that phone banking with UPI is available, even an emergency fund can be kept in Fixed Deposit linked with zero balance savings account.

• NPS is a must for salaried people.

• PPF is a must for others to generate and accumulate as tax free capital fund. 

• After putting an amount equal to 3 or 6 months expenditure in FD, invest the rest in Equities

• Those who don't mind risk, can open a d'mat a/c and buy shares. It is rewarding, if done regularly.

• Those not into direct investment in shares should try mutual funds. They are easy to invest and easy to take out also. You can get tax free income of 1 lakh per year if you invest in growth option and take out after a year. Those who don't have pension and want a regular monthly income can also use the systematic withdrawal method. The added advantage is that it is easy take out in emergencies within a few days at the price of loss of value depending on the nav. 

• While investing in mutual funds we have various avenues and combinations. Debt funds are less risky with lesser yield while equity funds are more volatile but with better yield than FD rates. Balanced funds are a mix of both. You can create your own balance by investing half your surplus in equity and half in debt funds. But we must remember that mutual funds are riskier than bank FD. However we should not see the nav every day and become moody with the paper loss or profit. Best is to review after each fund has crossed the lock in period and change if required. Tax impact also dictates the way to choose the options to ensure maximum return possible under the circumstances.  

• If you want to be super safe, you can invest in government bonds, where the interest may be a little better than FD rates. Of course, seniors should not miss the Senior Citizen Savings scheme which gives the best interest rates as FD at present but has a lock in period. 

• One thing I have noticed in seniors is that they are often concerned about the facility of taking out the money at any time. I don't know why they always ask about it. One of my friends has two children and bought two houses presumably to bequeath to them. He is living in one and renting the other. Both of them have gone abroad for good and do not intend to come back. The tenant too vacated and he sold that house and told me that he will buy two flats instead. I suggested that he put the money in mutual funds with systematic withdrawal plan as he has no pension. But he said that if he has the money, he will not be able to resist the demands of his brothers and sisters etc and will have the tendency to spend the capital, as he realises that he has no financial discipline. So he believes in only houses and flats as good investment. What to say about this?

• My take on immovable property is that it is not a good investment, unless you are going to live in it. 

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I thank him for allowing me to share with you in this blog.

How can Libraries help Senior Citizens?

How can libraries help Senior Citizens?

There are a large number of libraries both public as well as special in every city. Funding for running the library comes from govt or similar agencies. Thus libraries do have responsibility in addition to catering to their regular customers, to others outside their ambit, who also contribute by way of taxes. One such segment of the community that would greatly benefit is the Senior citizens, if libraries extend their co-operation to them. One might think of fulfilling some sort of corporate social responsibility of a different kind. There are lots of things that libraries or librarians can do in this regard. Some of them are listed here.

·        Libraries may lend space for conducting meetings of local Senior Citizens Associations in their premises.

·        Libraries may engage senior citizens who are knowledgeable and experienced to give lectures / talks, as a sort of extension activity.

·        Libraries may exempt senior citizens from admission and other fees charged for their services or offer discounts or concessions

·        Libraries may offer opportunities to retired persons to volunteer in library work; this segment would be available relatively cheap.

·        Libraries may offer free or low cost training courses in imparting skills in using smart phone, internet etc

·        Libraries may encourage Lifelong learning activity among the elderly. These could be done: Identifying free or affordable courses to sign up; providing terminals for online learning; to be a meeting point for co-learners;  provide class room facilities etc

·        Prolific readers, poets, writers, authors and others among the elderly may be encouraged to give book reviews, donate their books, poetry reading sessions, art and painting exhibitions, display their coin / philatelic collections etc

·        Retirees may be invited for several events conducted by the library by converting them into personal sponsors for specific activities.

·        Senior citizens may be approached to help in fund raising activities for special occasions.

·        Public libraries may even think of providing extension counters in retirement (gated) communities.

I am a retired librarian working for senior citizens’ welfare for the past twenty years and my most preferred way of giving help is to provide info / data / documents on whatever topic they want, provided it is in some way related to the 60+ age group.

Getting CSR Support from corporates for Elders Welfare: Ball is in our court

Getting CSR Support from corporates for Elders Welfare: Ball is in our court

From Chairman’s Desk:

We do not need to point out that the major emerging challenge of the 21st century is the phenomenon of population ageing. This phenomenon can become a drag on the economy in addition to causing human misery, unless remedial measures are taken in time. This is what seems to be not happening. Out of 11.81 crore senior citizens in our Country 70% belong to BPL category or are very close to it and around 40% are so poor that they cannot afford even two square  meals a day. 

To provide them minimum social, financial and health security we need more  Old Age Homes for the indigent, better upkeep of the existing ones, Shelters for the homeless, multipurpose Day Care Centers, Nursing Homes, Palliative care Homes, Physiotherapy centres. Mobile Health care units, Help Lines etc, etc. Support from CSR was expected to make a difference. Somehow it has not happened. During the last four years its contribution to elder-friendly activities has been almost negligible. It has been the least favored social cause 

Considering that Elders deserve a little better treatment by society, the All India Senior Citizens’ Confederation (AISCCON)  constituted a CSR Committee to find reasons for this apparent indifference on part of the Corporate Houses and to try to correct the situation. The first action which we took to find reasons for it was to interview the CSR bosses of a number of Corporate Houses.

The result was most surprising and un-expected. Most of the Corporates expressed their desire to do the needful for the welfare of our elders but according to them they were not receiving proposals for elder-friendly schemes. If any proposal was received, it would be half ‘baked’ with incomplete information. Sometimes if the Corporate took interest and asked for additional information, it was not followed up.

All this shows that the ball li es in our court only. Most of the welfare activities for senior citizens can be taken care of by CSR if properly handled. I request our senior citizen friends to take initiative of suggesting schemes for CSR support which will improve the well being of the elder community around them.

The CSR Committee can arrange professional help in preparing the proposals if there is a need.

We will be discussing this subject again during the next National Conference of AISCCON on 29^th and 30^th  Nov 2018, in Hyderabad, which is expected to be attended by around 2000 senior citizens from all over India.

R.N.Mital

[ Extract from CSR and Elder Care -- Newsletter of AISCCON Committee for CSR August 2018 p1]

When someone asks you ....

When someone asks you ….

When someone asks you ‘How do you do’ or ‘how are you doing’, it is a courteous way starting the conversation or a polite way of recognizing your presence upon meeting you. We shouldn’t start reeling off our sob stories unless it is something earth shattering like bereavement over a lost spouse, or the doctor has confirmed that our days are countable due to terminal cancer. No one likes the company of a whiner or those who pour out their miseries at the drop of a hat.

When someone says that he reads my blog posts I shouldn’t jump and ask whether he has read my latest post or embarrass him asking which one he liked most. He may at best just vaguely remember that I blog often. I know a friend, whom if I meet after a gap of few years, will ask me questions to ascertain whether I really remember him or recollect who he is. One cousin asked me, pointing her fingers at two Tirupati-returned-tonsured twin children, as to who is who. It is a tough question even for the mother to answer correctly, leave alone the poor me – who cannot remember faces or names or places easily. Next para tells you what a poor memory I have.

Many years ago I participated in the Annual day celebration of Senior Citizens Forum, invited and introduced by my friend Sivaram. The chief guest commented in his speech that an easy way to please someone, especially a senior citizen is to ask how old he is and then say: ‘You don’t look that old at all’. This will please many older adults, he said. During the tea break I introduced myself to a participant and asked his age. He said: “I could not grow any older significantly since this morning. We got introduced just before this lecture”. Later on I learnt from someone who overheard our conversation that the other person I was talking to was the one who gave the lecture as chief guest. 

We should always try to allow the other person to save his face as others have done several times in my case.

Image credit: https://goo.gl/8zYNE2

Why do senior citizens shout?

Why do Senior Citizens Shout?

Someone asked in Quora: Why do senior citizens shout at times instead of being polite? My take on the topic is given below:

I do not want to justify why elders shout while approaching an issue. However I can give a few reasons why they do so:

·        They are, many of them, hard of hearing. They imagine others also understand only if the speak aloud.

·        Secondly they do not have patience nor implicit faith that normal speech would yield results as they see others ill treating them everywhere, showing disrespect. They imagine that only shouting will attract attention (similar to children crying to gain attention)

·        “We are experienced and know everything” is their starting point and they get irritated when  they are doubted or questioned. It may be true that the experience may not be relevant to present day needs / issues.

·        Some of them may have enjoyed positions of power before retirement and feel a sudden loss of engagement, power, social acceptance or authority. This upsets them and they cannot digest it or cope with it. It manifests as shouting, impotent anger, if I may say so

·        Some seniors have a loud voice by nature. For instance my neighbor, retired employee from corporate sector, always talks loudly. Entire family does so. We can hear every bit they talk among themselves. So when the father calls from upstairs his son living in ground floor, it almost looks they are quarrelling or fighting. This habit extends to others outside the house also, say when he talks to the garbage collector or the postman.

It is quite possible that the questioner has not seen the same seniors he is finding fault with, in other settings like say when they are in a meeting or in a temple or in a marriage. In these places / occasions their image / prestige is at stake and would behave with great restraint.

All said and done seniors are seniors and let them have the pleasure of giving vent to their unquenched anger at the fag end of their lives. Others can learn to appreciate the inner turmoil going on and not make a big fuss about it. What do you say?

Securing your house before going on tour - Tips for Senior Citizens

Securing your house before going on tour

This note is meant for those living alone, especially senior citizens. Your house has to be secured against theft, burglary, trespass or abuse during your absence. Here are a dozen ideas serving that end, before you proceed on travel.

1. Don’t announce to the entire world that you are going to be away. Avoid loud discussions about travel your plans with neighbors in public places or in the presence of servants. Be discrete to extent feasible.

2. See that you take adequate measures to handle regular visitors or vendors like paper boys, Milk supplier, postman etc in your absence. If you are away for a few days, anyone can notice newspapers strewn all over your front yard or overflowing letters in your mailbox. This will give ideas to thieves to plan an attack.

3. Leave a word with trust worthy neighbors to keep an eye for any untoward happenings and to alert you

4. Leave urgent contact numbers (not just yours  but also of those through whom someone can reach you in case of emergency) with people whom you trust.

5. Secure doors and windows properly.

6. Shift valuables to a safe locker in a bank

7. Ensure that electricity, water, gas and similar utilities are turned off. For example, if you leave inlet water line open in a sump, accumulated water will overflow resulting in not only wastage of water but also give away clues about your absence.

8. Use social media like FaceBook and Twitter responsibly. Dangers are real.

9. Most seniors do not trust the police as they fear that informing them to keep a watch might work adversely. During the past couple of years image of police has improved and depending on rapport you have with your local police, decide accordingly.

10. Set up CCTV cameras at strategic points with recording to a system connected to Internet such that it can be accessed in case of need. Don’t switch off this circuit!

11. If the house is secluded you may think of electric fencing.

12. If you engage a part time gardener or watchman in your absence, please do have his past verified by police

GOI Helplines

Help lines from Govt of India

Here is a comprehensive list of Helpline numbers. These are valid throughout India. Most are general open to all. Anything for Senior Citizens?  Yes, there is one exclusively for senior citizens also, run by HelpAge India with the support of local police in many cities including Hyderabad. The toll free number to call during normal office hours is: 1800 180 1253 Elderly Ladies in Hyderabad facing domestic violence or elder abuse should contact BAROSA She Team in Hyderabad: 040-27852355. 

Please Spread this info to all your friends. It is requested that those who try these numbers may kindly share their experiences via comments so that info can be kept updated. That will be your contribution to the society. 

A Single Helpline Number
HelpLine Number	Description
198	Telephone Complaint Booking
197	Directory enquiry service
1961	Aaykar Sampark Kendra (ASK)
1958	Leased Circuit Fault Booking (WTR)
1957	Sancharnet Internet Help desk service
1954	Changed number announcement (in case of shift)
1953	Changed number announcement (Regional language)
1952	Changed number announcement (English)
1951	Change number announcement (Hindi)
1950	Election Commission of India
1947	Aadhar Card-UIDAI (Unique idenditification authority of india),1800-180-1947
1919	Eye Donation
1919	Eye bank information service
1918	Leased Circuits Fault Booking
1916	Water Supply Complain
1913	Tourist Office (Govt.of India)
1911	Dial a doctor
1910	Blood bank Information
1906	LPG emergency helpline number
1904	Indian Army Help Line
181	Domestic abuse and sexual violence-Women's Helpline
1800-3000-780	Mann Ki Baat on the toll-free number
1800-180-5522	Anti Ragging-Emails at helpline@antiragging.in
1800-180-1104	National Health Helpline
1800-111-139	IRCTC Help Line
1800-11-7800	MyGov Toll Free Number for MannKiBaat for ideas and suggestions
1800-11-4000	National Consumer Helpline
1800-11-0031	Drug de-addiction
1718	Maritime Search and Rescue control room of coastal guard
1717	Weather Enquiry
1671-73	Billing Complaint Center
166 / 1660-69	Billing complaint center
1602	India Telephone Card Enquiry
1600	Free Phone Enquiry
1589	Telex complaints
1588	International Trunk delay information
1587	International trunk enquiry
1586	International trunk booking
1583	National Directory Enquiry (NDQ) Service
1582	STD complaints
1581	Trunk assistance
1580	Trunk booking
155333	Electricity Complaints
155313	Water Board
155255 / 1800 4254732	Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)
155233	Indian Oil Help Line
155200	Military Police Help Line
1551	Kisan Call Center
1512	Railway
1500	for any queries related to landline telephone, ISDN etc. Also accessible from CellOne, Excel & Tarang phones
1414	Air India ( Confirmation / Cancellation Enquiry)(Called Party)
1407	Indian Airlines
139	Railway Enquiry
133	Railway Helpline for Arrival/Departure and Reservation services
1322	For any theft or harassment, nuisance caused due to smoking or alcohol consumption on train
1322	Indian Railway Security Helpline
1320, 131, 1321	Indian Railway General Enquiry
12727	Public Grievance Cell Telecom Circle HQs
1251	LIC Of India
112	General emergency Department of Telecommunications (DoT)
112	All in one Emergency Number
1099	Central Accident and Trauma Services
1099	Catastrophe & Trauma service
1098	Child abuse hotline
1097	AIDS helpline
1097	AIDS help line service
1096	Natural disaster control room
1092	Earth-quake Help line service
1091	Women in Distress
1090	Anti terror Helpline/Alert All India
108	Disaster management
1077	Control room of District Collector/Magistrate
1073	Road Accident
1073	Traffic Help Line
1072	Train accident
1071	Air Accident
1070	Central Relief Commissioner for Natural Calamities
1070	Relief Commissioners of Central/State/Union territory
1066	Anti-poison
104	State level helpline for Health
104	Hospital On Wheels
1033	Emergency Relief Centre on National Highways
1031	Anti Corruption Helpline
103	Traffic Police
102	Ambulance
101	Fire
100	Police
+91 9540161344.	Air ambulance