What are the top investment options that Indian women prefer today?
Gone are the days when the earning member of the family will just be men. Now, women equally make money just like their male counterparts and take all kinds of responsibilities of their families and career. This is why many women are investing their earnings also. If you are a woman who believes to be equal in society, you must make an equal contribution to your family like your partner. And as we talk about investment for a family’s better future, we must include a term insurance policy.
Since both, the husband and wife in a family work these days, each of their earning matters. And if one of them passes away all of a sudden, it can bring a disbalance in the budget. And if you are a single parent on whom your kids are dependent, then buying term insurance makes all the more sense.
Apart from term insurance, there are several investment options that you can explore. Let us talk about some investment options for women which bring good returns.
Public Provident Fund (PPF)
Public Provident Fund or PPF is certainly one of the best investment plans that can be opted for by women in India. To open a PPF account, you can visit any bank or a post office. The maximum tenure of the PPF is 15 years and the rate of interest provided is between 7.1% and 8%. Apart from this, this investment option is totally risk-free and you can start investing in it from INR 500 to INR 1.5 lakh, whatever amount suits you. This investment plan will enable you to withdraw 50% of the amount, once you complete 5 years of investing in it. Therefore, you can save quite a lot of money in a period of 15 years.
Employee’s Provident Fund (EPF)
Employee’s Provident Fund, mostly called EPF, is a post income that is completely secured for women. You can actually get tax benefits. For the initial three years, you as a working woman have to contribute only 8% in an EPF account. As of now, it is one of the best investment options in the country that enable women to earn a higher income. In this scheme, working women from the private sector can invest a maximum of around INR 2.5 lakh, while those who are from the government sector can invest around INR 5 lakh.
National Savings Certificate (NSC)
If you want to get higher returns, you can invest in a National savings certificate (NSC). The scheme offers around 8% interest and there is absolutely no cap on the money that you are investing. There are certain restrictions though in this scheme, and you will not be able to withdraw the amount before the policy gets matured.
Post Office Monthly Income Scheme
If you want to keep the earnings consistent, you must consider a Post Office Monthly Income Scheme. The tenure is between 1 to 5 years and you will be able to invest at least INR 1000 and a maximum amount of INR 4.5 lakh. It is a one-time investment that will enable you to earn interest on the basis of the tenure. If you are planning to open a joint account under this scheme, you can deposit INR 9 lakh.
Mutual Funds
You can get the best return through mutual funds. Along with it, you can also choose a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP). This will help in lessening the chances of losses and rather maximize the returns on investments.
There are several investment options for women, which will help them to get higher returns. If you want to find some more options, you can visit the website of IIFL today itself. You can also come across several term insurance policies and plan to buy one.