Retirement means different things to different people. Most people consider retirement to be akin to the last innings of their life. Uncertain of what’s to come post-retirement, most people tend to leave anything unconventional out of their retirement plan. Thus, most retired Indians are left at home babysitting their grandchildren, content with living off the money they get from their investments.
But, are you going to while away the rest of your life being a babysitter all over again? You deserve better than just being confined to your house and being an on-call-nanny for your grandkids.
While it isn’t particularly important to have a grand plan and a busy schedule in place after your retirement, if you wish to simply stay at home and do absolutely nothing, feel free to do it. But make sure you’ve planned your retirement well so that you don’t have to live on meagre funds.
Retirement doesn’t always have to be a stroll in the park, reading the newspaper from front to back and vice-versa. It can be a lot of other things. Keep scrolling and we’ll tell you.
Additional Reading: Pay-Out Options For Retirement Savings
Teach
For starters, you can put your educational qualifications to use. Either doing it voluntarily or for a nominal fee, you can get in touch with schools nearby to see if they could use your knowledge in any way.
If you’re an SME on any particular subject, a lot of colleges/schools are always on the lookout for a guest speaker who can guide students. So, don’t just sit on your porch reading the newspaper. Get out and about. Put your experience and skills to good use.
Additional Reading: Your Way To Retirement
Volunteer
On the same lines as teaching, a lot of NGOs in India are looking for help. You can volunteer to help out at an NGO of your choice. Supporting a cause that you strongly feel for will give you a sense of fulfilment too.
What better way to give back to the community, especially since you have all the time in the world after your retirement. So, don’t hesitate to reach out to NGOs and offer them your support.
Additional Reading: 5 Ways You Can Give Even When You Receive
Convert that hobby into a profession
If you’ve been passionate about a sport and are still in great shape, you could become a coach at a school. Similarly, if you know to play a musical instrument, you could conduct lessons and become a teacher. Whatever it is that you’re good at, you could turn that passion into a small time income post retirement.
If you love cooking, start by catering for small parties, etc. However, try not to take on anything too stressful. You can also think of starting something on your own – maybe a consulting firm, a food truck, a music school, art school or even a finishing school!
Additional Reading: 5 Ways To Ensure A Constant Flow Of Money Post Retirement
Travel
If you’ve saved smartly or invested cleverly, you’ll have enough money to make small trips every now and then post your retirement. Travelling around the country or going abroad will need sufficient planning, which should keep you engrossed and will make you look forward to your trip.
Additional Reading: How To Make Your Money Last While Travelling
Take Up A Part-Time Job
Without making this sound tedious, it’s nice to take up a part-time job or a flexible job that will fetch you a steady little income. Don’t be too harsh on yourself and sign up for a stressful job. Your post-retirement job should be something easy and fun without consuming too much of your energy or time. Try and look at work from home options as well.
Additional Reading: Retirement Planning For Everyone
Not planned for your retirement yet?
Well, you don’t have to panic. It isn’t too late unless you’re retiring tomorrow!
Although retirement planning must begin early in your career, there can be instances where you’ve probably missed doing a few things. Yes, everyone makes mistakes, but learning from your mistakes without repeating them is important. Don’t just depend on your Provident Fund as you approach your retirement. Here are some investments you can explore even after you’ve retired.
Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS): This scheme offered by India Post has plenty of benefits. Firstly, the maturity period of this scheme is five years. So, even if you’re close to your retirement and are only 50 something, you can start with this scheme.
Secondly, this scheme can be opened by people who have either retired on superannuation or under VRS. The only thing to consider under this scheme is that you must open this account within one month of receipt of your retirement benefits and the amount must not exceed the amount of your total retirement benefits.
Thirdly, the interest earned on this amount will be 8.5% per annum. TDS is deducted at source on interest if the interest amount is more than Rs. 10,000 per annum. Moreover, you can open this account jointly too, with your spouse. What’s holding you back? Start now!
Additional Reading: Taxation of Post Office Schemes
Fixed Deposits (FDs): An all-time favourite, an FD Account is safe and fetches a relatively decent rate of interest. You may not want to risk your entire life savings by investing it all on something you have half-knowledge or no knowledge about at all. Banks offer FD lock-in tenures for as low as seven days to tenures as high as 10 years.
FD Rates for Senior Citizens For Top 10 Banks – January, 2017
| Name of the Bank | Tenure (Min – Max) | Senior Citizen FD Rates |
| State Bank Of India | 7 days – 10 years | 5.50% p.a. to 7.75% p.a. |
| Indian Post Office | 1 year – 5 years | 7.10% p.a. to 7.90% p.a. |
| HDFC Bank | 7 days – 10 years | 4.00% p.a. to 8.00% p.a. |
| ICICI Bank | 7 days – 10 years | 4.50% p.a. to 8.00% p.a. |
| Axis Bank | 7 days – 10 years | 3.50% p.a. to 8.00% p.a. |
| Punjab National Bank | 7 days – 10 years | 4.75% p.a. to 8.00% p.a. |
| Bank Of India | 7 days – 10 years | 4.50% p.a. to 7.80% p.a. |
| Canara Bank | 7 days – 10 years | 5.75% p.a. to 8.05% p.a. |
| Indian Bank | 7 days – More than 3 years | 5.00% p.a. to 7.75% p.a. |
| Bank Of Baroda | 7 days – 10 years | 5.00% p.a. to 7.80% p.a. |
Sounds interesting? Compare rates.
Public Provident Fund Scheme (PPF): The Public Provident Fund Scheme is a tax-free savings avenue that was introduced way back in 1968. The good news is that the interest earned on deposits in the PPF Account are not taxable. Moreover, deposits made towards PPF Accounts can be claimed as tax deductions as well. That’s why the PPF is the most tax efficient instrument in India. The rate of interest for the PPF scheme was at 8.7 % in 2015-2016 but has now been revised in the Union Budget 2016 for FY 2016-2017 to 8.1%.
PPFs can be opened at any nationalised, authorised bank/branches or post offices across the country. Do note that a deposit has to be made every year for 15 years to keep this account active. Also, loans can be availed against these funds from year three to year six.
Also Read: PPF Vs NSC: Which One’s The Better Bet?
Now that you have a ton of options available to you after retirement, maybe you could even squeeze in some babysitting during your down time. After all, if your post-retirement plans don’t keep you on your toes, your grandkids certainly will.