Financial planning: Gaurav Mashruwala

I, 47, am a government employee. My investments are: EPF = Rs 18 lakh, PPF = Rs 5.5 lakh, recurring deposit = Rs 3 lakh and FD = Rs 2 lakh. I have also subscribed to postal life insurance of Rs 1 lakh, postal recurring = Rs 500 (monthly), postal monthly income scheme (Rs 20,000). I invest in SBI gold fund (SIP = Rs 1,000). I have pension, health and money-back policies from LIC (annual premium = Rs 1 lakh). Should I consider equities/real estate/precious metals? I wish to retire in 2012.
You have not mentioned what will be your financial commitments after retirement. In the absence of detailed information, I suggest you buy health insurance. If you have dependents, opt for life insurance cover for yourself (term plan). Keep aside 3-6 months’ expenses as contingencies. From the residual corpus, invest in post office monthly income scheme and monthly MF income plan to ensure income for 4-5 years. Also, deploy the balance in equity and gold to ensure your wealth grows at a rate higher than inflation.

I, 23, am working since June. I need to invest Rs 75,000 to save taxes. I already have a PPF. What instruments can I consider?
Always focus on your financial goals while investing, even if for saving tax. Currently, you are young and single. Hence, there are no financial responsibilities. However, you will have some over time. Start retirement planning at this age to let your investments get enough time to grow. Also, consider equity as an asset class. In the long run, it has proved a better performer. You can start an SIP in ELSS to accumulate long-term corpus. It will also give you a tax benefit also. Continue with PPF, as it offers tax benefits and effective yield is high.

The writer is a certified financial planner