Tax, Investment planning for FY 2019-20: Here are some good options you can explore

Tax, investment planning for FY 2019-20: As the new financial year 2019-20 has already started, it is the best time for you to start investing and putting some money in tax-saving products instead of waiting till the end of the financial year. It is important to have a proper investment plan for a better future. However, you may still be wondering about the best options available and what you should keep in mind while investing. While making the investment plan you should set aside some money as an emergency fund. Experts suggest that the emergency funds should be sufficient to help you meet expenses for you six months. You should prepare the emergency fund either by saving every month or by even by starting investing in a liquid fund or ultra short-term debt funds. These investments can help you get an annual return of 6-7%. Also, you would be able to redeem the money in your bank account. It is also necessary to plan investment and tax saving separately. 

Here's look at some good investment options: 

Public Provident Fund (PPF)

Public Provident Fund (PPF) is one of the best and safest options you may come across. All the investment made in PPF, interest earned and the amount of money received after the maturity period is tax-free. You can deposit a minimum of Rs 500/year and a maximum of Rs 1.50 lakh/year. You can make deposits in the PPF account up to 12 times in a year. PPF has a maturity period of 15 years. PPF is better than several other investment options as it provides a relatively high-interest rate and several tax advantages.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY)

Sukanya Samrudhi Yojana aims at securing the future of the girl child. Currently, the scheme offers an interest rate of 8.5%. By investing Rs 1 lakh every year in SSY for 14 years, you can build a corpus of up to Rs 46 lakh at the current rate of interest for your daughter by the time she turns 21. For opening the SSY account, your daughter should not be more than 10 years old.

The SSY interest is fairly high and the deposits in the scheme will also be secure. 

Post Office Time Deposit

You can open Post Office Time Deposit (POTD) accounts of one, two, three and five years. The interest earned by you will depend on the time for which you make the investment. You can open with as little as Rs 200 and there is no upper limit. The interest rates on offer are 7% for 1, 2 and 3 years and 7.8% for 5 years. Anyone above 10 years of age can open the Post Office Time Deposit account. 

Interest rates in Post Office Time Deposit do not vary as they are fixed initially. 

National Pension System (NPS)

This is one of the best options for retirement planning, investment and tax saving in the long run. Any person aged between 18 years to 60 years can open the NPS account. You can start the NPS account by investing as little as Rs 500 a month. Upon retirement, you will get a fairly good lump sum (60% of the corpus) while the rest will be invested in an annuity for a monthly pension. NPS can get you higher returns than other retirement products in the long run.

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Life Insurance

You can also buy a Life insurance policy as there is no guarantee of life. While purchasing an insurance policy, you should ideally ensure that the Sum Assured is 10-20 times more than your current annual income, so that your family may not face problems for several years after you. Insurance gives financial security to your family in case you are not around. 

Voluntary Provident Fund (VPF)

Currently, one can get more interest in VPF (8.65%) than PPF (8%). One can make VPF investment online. The money invested in VPF is locked-in. You can get it upon retirement or after leaving/losing the job. Like PPF, VPF is also a risk-free option.

Apart from the above, you can explore investing in mutual funds and equities, starting a monthly SIP, opening a  tax-saving Fixed Deposit. For best results, you should always consult a professional financial planner.