How to start saving for your retirement

Just because your golden years are upon you, doesn’t mean you have to keep your dreams aside. After all, you have taken many strides to achieve your dreams in your working career, then why do your retired years have to be any different.  However, you need to take the right steps to ensure that all your dreams continue to be fulfilled, especially after you stop working and the frequency of your regular income decreases.

Therefore, if you can iron out all the kinks in your finances before you hang your boots, then your golden years will become truly golden. So what should you do in your working years to ensure a healthy and a care-free retired life? 

The best you can do is start early. Starting early not only allows you to invest for a certain amount of time, but also gives your investments the much needed time to mature and reap returns.

Listed below are investment avenues that will help make your retired life easy and stress-free.

• SIP
  SIPs (Systematic Investment Plans) helps you invest your money in diverse mutual funds, so that you are covered against all kinds of market volatilities. Refer to online SIP calculators which help you obtain an approximate amount to build your retirement corpus. Also, calculate your monthly income and expenses to know how much you can keep aside every month to invest in SIPs. SIPs invest your money in various sectors, so you are assured about the safety of your investments.
• PPF
  PPF(Public Provident Fund) is a stable and time tested investment tool and an ideal choice for the risk-averse. The long lock-in period allows your funds to grow gradually and steadily. You will also earn tax benefits on your interest pay-out. When you invest in PPFs. Fifteen years is the minimum maturity period of these funds and you can choose to extend them by five years (at a time), if you want to.
• Fixed Deposit
  FD is the most traditional methods of investment that guarantees you a reasonable rate of interest on your investment. You can put a certain amount of money in a FD for a time period of your choice and watch your investment grow steadily. Interest earned from these FDs can be pooled in back to your investments in order to increase your corpus considerably. A fixed deposit is the best choice if you don’t want to take any risks with your investment. You can also link your FD with your savings account.
• Monthly Income Schemes 
  Monthly Income Schemes ensure regular income in your post-retirement years allowing you to live your life the way you want. Various mutual fund companies provide investment through fund offerings, while government or public sector organisations like post office funds offer MIPs.
• Insurance
  • It’s important to protect yourself and your dependants from untoward events. Insurance enables you to ensure your family’s security.
  • Create a robust retirement corpus by building a healthy investment portfolio and enjoy happy retirement.

Disclaimer: This article is for information purpose only. The views expressed in this article are personal and do not necessarily constitute the views of Axis Bank Ltd. and its employees. Axis Bank Ltd. and/or the author shall not be responsible for any direct / indirect loss or liability incurred by the reader for taking any financial decisions based on the contents and information. Please consult your financial advisor before making any financial decision

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