Disability is a matter of perception. Or else, Sudha Chandran, Ravindra Jain, Arunima Sinha, Albert Einstein,
Stephen Hawking, George Washington, Helen Keller and Franklin D. Roosevelt would never have been famous. Ahead of the International Day of Disabled Persons celebrated on December 3, let us look at investment options that disabled persons can look to secure their future.
Planning is key
Planning finances is a key task for the specially abled. This is because often investments will be required for their special needs and secured future for a longer time compared to others.
By prioritising finances and future savings, a person with one or more disability takes a definitive step to be independent. If you don’t plan properly, your disposable income will become much smaller as already quite a bit is getting spent on treatments, regular checkups and other expenditures on medical care and supervision etc.
Different avenues
Most disabled people are unaware of the investment options. There is a plethora of avenues.
Public Provident Fund and FDs – Invest in PPF and FDs in order to suit your long-term saving needs. As a disabled person, you just like others, can invest in the PPF scheme with up to Rs 1.5 lakh a year. Also, it helps in income tax redemption where they can get effective return. Those with a low risk profile, can prefer government-backed deposits.
If you can take slighlty more risk, look at pension plans, bonds, non-convertible debentures (NCDs), and equity-oriented products to generate more investment returns.
Atal Pension Yojana – This pension scheme is designed for the unorganized sector working class, but disabled can take advantage. You have to be a minimum of 18 years of age and maximum of 40 years of age. After its maturity, joinees will get minimum Rs 5,000 monthly by investing few hundred rupees per month.
Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) – For disabled person who are senior citizens, PMVVY is a good pension plan if you are 60 years and above. The investment limit of the plan is Rs 15 lakh and senior citizens will get assured 8% return for 10 years. The minimum pension amount will be Rs 1,000 per month, Rs 3,000 per quarter, Rs 6,000 per half year and Rs 12,000 per year. Do check for PMVVY investment dates as the scheme’s last date extension for investment stands at 31st March, 2023.
Multi-cap funds – If you dont want to invest in direct equities, disabled persons can consider multi-cap funds that are diversified considering the range of stocks. Multi cap funds are a good fit for investors who can’t risk much as disabled persons. In fact, multi cap funds contain than large, mid and small-cap schemes. Disabled persons can consider hybrid funds that combine equity and debt, and offer even lower risk than multicap funds. But do look at the equity allocation of hybrid funds to cut exposure to small-cap stocks.
Health insurance – Although taking a health cover is an expense due to premium, continued medical treatment means that the handicapped people need to invest more for this insurance. Buy policies that offer specific benefits for the disabled. Study policies that cover individuals with physical challenges such as deafness, blindness, numbness and other physical disabilities like polio. Even, autism affected persons can buy special policies. Additionally, there are some government-sponsored health plans such as Nirmalya Health Insurance and Swavalamban Health Insurance.
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