A suitable savings strategy will guide you to a stable future from all aspects. One of the principles to follow for such outcomes is to save first, from your salary or any other income, before making an expenditure.
Every 3 out of 5 Indians, do not maintain a savings account balance or emergency fund beyond Rs 5,000. You need to select the best savings options from a variety of choices to ensure a strong conclusion.
According to a recent study, literate females in India constitute a total of 64.6%, while the male literacy rate stood at a staggering 80.9%. The gender literacy disparity has had a massive impact on household planning and population stabilization endeavors in India. Savings schemes such as PPF and ELSS have been effective in bridging this gap and other socio-economic inequalities.
Understanding Public Provident Fund and Equity Linked Saving Scheme
1. PPF – Like the Employee Provident Fund, Public Provident Fund helps an individual to save tax and eventually leads to a lump sum of funds post-retirement. The minimum amount for investment is Rs 500 per month. The maximum admissible investment is Rs 1,50,000 over one year.
PPF is popular as one of the best savings options, especially for low-salaried employees.
The minimum lock-in period stands at 15 years. The account holder receives the investment amount constituting interest. The current PPF interest rate is at 8%. You cannot withdraw from the fund until 15 years. However, you can avail of loans or partial withdrawal after the completion of 7 years.
The significant benefits of PPF can be summed up as follows –
a) Risk-free interest rate – As the government plays a major role in the public provident scheme, there is no risk of loss in this investment.
b) Tax exemption – Investors in PPF entail tax deductions under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act up to Rs 1.5 Lakh per annum.
c) Maturity extension – Account holders can extend their maturity period by one block consisting of 5 years. To save more, you can prolong your investment period.
2. ELSS – It stands for Equity Linked Savings Scheme, which is directly related to the performance of the equity market. It is a type of mutual fund which is eligible for tax exemptions under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act of up to Rs 1.5 Lakh for one financial year. Equity Linked Savings Scheme comes with a lock-in period of 3 years. Due to the presence of the risk-return tradeoff, an individual can consider this as one of the best savings options.
The advantages of investing in an ELSS are as follows –
a) Higher returns – ELSS provide higher returns than PPF or a Fixed Deposit, as it has a direct relationship with the stock market. If the stocks do well, the ELSS taken is bound to do well.
b) Shorter lock-in period – As compared to a PPF, the equity-linked scheme has a shorter lock-in period of 3 years.
c) Tax deductions – Similar to PPF, the ELSS scheme has tax benefits under the Income Tax Act, 1961. The returns from this medium are tax-exempt till Rs 1.5 Lakh per annum.
PPF and ELSS are good investment options to secure your future. However, you may require an immediate lump sum of funds to meet unforeseen difficulties. Access to quick and pre-approved credit financial institutions can help in such situations.
You need to look out for the best savings options, which not only meet your retirement objective but also play a vital role during your employment. If you wish to live stress-free in the future, you need to save beforehand today. Be aware of your liquidity requirements and the lock-in period of the scheme to be availed.
An employee should be aware of the best monthly income scheme available in India to invest in and choose the most suitable one as per their financial portfolio. Remember not to put all your investable corpus in one fund, and instead diversify among various schemes for better returns.
