Senior citizens (some of them) can smile
TEAM TOI
The budget may have little for the salaried class, but it has offered monetary and medical relief for a section of the retired.
Tamil Nadu has the second highest percentage of senior citizens in the country, next to Kerala. The first in a series of concessions provided for the greying population is the exemption of interest income on deposits with banks and post offices being increased from ₹10,000 to ₹50,000. This benefit will also be available for interest from all fixed and recurring deposit schemes. Any interest income earned on the money kept in savings bank accounts above a certain limit is subject to tax.
“This is a big boon for senior citizens, as a sizeable percentage of them keep most of their savings, retirement money, pension and gratuity in savings accounts,” said Giridharan R, a chartered accountant. This comes at a time when the interest rates on deposits have been coming down over the last couple of years. “Demonetisation too hit this population as many used to keep cash at home,” he said.
Senior citizens will also be able to claim benefit of deduction up to ₹50,000 per annum in respect of any health insurance premium or general medical expenditure incurred. This is significant as the number of people suffering from chronic ailments in the state is double than those in the rest of the country, according to a recent report compiled by IIT-Madras, based on the National Sample Survey. More than one-third of people above 60 are reported to be suffering from chronic ailments.
Geriatric physician Dr V S Natarajan, however, is sceptical about the benefits of the budget announcements. “Even among middle-class patients who come to me, less than 20% have medical insurance. This is only going to benefit a niche section– those who pay tax and those who have insurance,” he said.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley said the concessions will give extra tax benefit of ₹4,000 crore to senior citizens.
The budget also didn’t have much for senior citizens from the lower socio-economic strata. According to the 2011 census, among the 103 million elderly citizens, 70 million are from the lower strata. “For these people, the finance minister has announced a medical insurance cover. But medical insurance isn’t what they need as much as a pension,” said Mathew Cherian, CEO of HelpAge India. The existing Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme provides them ₹200 a month.
TEAM TOI
The budget may have little for the salaried class, but it has offered monetary and medical relief for a section of the retired.
Tamil Nadu has the second highest percentage of senior citizens in the country, next to Kerala. The first in a series of concessions provided for the greying population is the exemption of interest income on deposits with banks and post offices being increased from ₹10,000 to ₹50,000. This benefit will also be available for interest from all fixed and recurring deposit schemes. Any interest income earned on the money kept in savings bank accounts above a certain limit is subject to tax.
“This is a big boon for senior citizens, as a sizeable percentage of them keep most of their savings, retirement money, pension and gratuity in savings accounts,” said Giridharan R, a chartered accountant. This comes at a time when the interest rates on deposits have been coming down over the last couple of years. “Demonetisation too hit this population as many used to keep cash at home,” he said.
Senior citizens will also be able to claim benefit of deduction up to ₹50,000 per annum in respect of any health insurance premium or general medical expenditure incurred. This is significant as the number of people suffering from chronic ailments in the state is double than those in the rest of the country, according to a recent report compiled by IIT-Madras, based on the National Sample Survey. More than one-third of people above 60 are reported to be suffering from chronic ailments.
Geriatric physician Dr V S Natarajan, however, is sceptical about the benefits of the budget announcements. “Even among middle-class patients who come to me, less than 20% have medical insurance. This is only going to benefit a niche section– those who pay tax and those who have insurance,” he said.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley said the concessions will give extra tax benefit of ₹4,000 crore to senior citizens.
The budget also didn’t have much for senior citizens from the lower socio-economic strata. According to the 2011 census, among the 103 million elderly citizens, 70 million are from the lower strata. “For these people, the finance minister has announced a medical insurance cover. But medical insurance isn’t what they need as much as a pension,” said Mathew Cherian, CEO of HelpAge India. The existing Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme provides them ₹200 a month.
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