Hanging up one’s boots is synonymous with taking time to pursue one’s passions, travel being the most common choice. This is why financially savvy people like Tejinder Ahluwalia and his wife Nirmal Walia factor it in while planning their retirement corpus.
On the face of it, travel industry is chock-ablock with discounts for the retired. Sample this: the Indian Railways provides a flat 30% rebate on fares in all classes of coaches; you get special monthly passes for just Rs 50 from DTC, which also offers 50% discount on all routes, while MSRTC buses provide 50% concession in fares; all the government air carriers offer a 45-50% discount on economy fares. Not to be outdone, private airlines like Jet promise a 20-25% discount on full economy fares.
Though Kingfisher Airlines offers discounts only in the business class fares— it varies from sector to sector—there are big savings to be had. For instance, a Kingfisher First seat from Delhi to Mumbai typically costs around Rs 21,600, but for senior citizens the same costs just Rs 12,543. Says Delhi-based Ashok Das, who retired from the 9-to-9 grind to start his own consultancy: “There are a lot of sops offered to senior citizens, but the awareness is limited.”
“Not many senior citizens are aware of the various travel benefits they can enjoy or even how to avail of them.” |
Unfortunately, not only are these perks limited to senior citizens but also to national borders. Says Ahluwalia, former joint secretary, Lok Sabha: “We are aware of the perks offered to senior citizens, but in practical terms there is not much available abroad, except while travelling by train in Europe and at some tourist attractions. For instance, on the recent Hawaii cruise that we took, nothing special was offered to seniors either by the airlines or during the cruise and off-shore excursions. The same was true for the Alaska cruise that we had taken previously.” With the travel industry facing a crunch, you need to trawl the Net for attractive deals for senior citizens. The surest and best way to maximise holiday savings is to avail of the early-bird discount.
RETIREMENT BENEFITS
Senior citizens can avail of a host of sops, from tax breaks to getting a telephone on a priority. MTNL and BSNL also charge lower registration fees. Apart from a higher income-tax threshold of Rs 2.25 lakh, you have an exclusive investment option that is big on both safety and returns—the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, which gives you 9% annual returns and is now under Section 80C. Talking about tax deductions, insurance premium up to Rs 20,000 is deductible for you, as opposed to Rs 15,000 for the public. Also medical treatment for the 65-plus brigade is deductible up to Rs 60,000 under Section 80DDB.
You also stand to gain 0.5% more than the regular rates on bank fixed deposit schemes. Many, particularly the PSU banks, also charge lower service fees from senior citizens. For instance, Punjab National Bank charges you Rs 30 for making a demand draft as opposed to Rs 40 it charges the others. Then there are the exclusive senior citizen bank accounts, which come with privileges such as a free cheque pick-up facility and an enhanced withdrawal limit.
A great option for the asset-rich, cashpoor is the reverse mortgage scheme, where a home worth Rs 10 lakh is likely to get you over Rs 2,000 a month. Being on the ‘right’ side of 60 clearly has its perks.
More and mroe innovative products are being designed to meet the specific needs of the aged
Talking timer: These clocks, costing Rs 250 onwards, come with big LCD screens. They chime and announce every hour or read out the time at the press of a button.
Pill box with timer: If you can’t keep track of medication, you need to get yourself one of these. When the alarm goes off, it’s time to pop a pill. The cost? Rs 450 onwards.
Talking thermometer: These handy variants, costing upwards of Rs 240, will beep through the duration of the temperature reading and announce when it is done.
Rent equipment: There are a few enterprises such as Medirent and Med India Solutions that rent out medical equipment for as little as Rs 20. So instead of buying things like nebulisers, oxygen cylinders or even hospital beds, just hire.
Drive safe: Buy a personal anti-sleep alert, which sounds an alarm if you nod off or your head drops below a pre-set angle while driving. And it costs just Rs 125.
Walking stick-cum-stool: This is a cool one, especially if you need to stand in long queues. Just open the little tripod stool and plunk down. The basic model costs Rs 350.
