Senior citizens, hit hard by the falling interest rates, are likely to get a package in the budget, including lowering of age bar for tax sops from 65 to 60 and higher returns on special small savings schemes. Apart from reducing the age bar to 60 years for senior citizens for claiming section 88B benefits, official sources said they were likely to be provided with higher interest rates by at least 1 per cent on some of the savings schemes. Some specified schemes may even offer 10 per cent return to provide some relief to senior citizens whose income have virtually been halved in the face of softening of interest rates on savings schemes in the last four to five years, the sources said. The interest rates have fallen drastically from a high average of 12-13 per cent to 7-8 per cent in most of the savings schemes in the last few years. Also, the age bar is likely to be rationalised to 60 years for all benefits to senior citizens. Presently concessional railway tickets are provided only from 65 years, while LIC’s Varishta Bima Yojna carrying 9 per cent is available from 55 years. It is not clear if the Dada-Didi bonds proposed in the NDA government’s interim budget would be launched or a new scheme would be worked out for senior citizens. Recently, the Rakesh Mohan committee which rationalised various small savings schemes and interest rates on them, submitted its report to Finance minister P Chidambaram.
