In the past 18 years, much has changed for consumers when it comes to retirement and taxes. Here is a list:

TRPs: Tax return preparers are trained and certified professionals by the Income Tax Department who can help you with tax filing. In 2006-07, the tax department introduced them to help taxpayers file their taxes. TRPs charge a nominal fee for basic tax filing, which goes up depending on the complexity of the case.

Super senior citizen: Individuals of 80 years and above are categorised as super senior citizens. For them, income tax applies only if their income is above Rs 5 lakh.

Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS): Launched in 2004, the SCSS is a deposit scheme introduced by the Government of India to provide guaranteed returns to senior citizens or to individuals at age 55 or above in specific cases, through a safe investment. This scheme ensures a regular quarterly income stream for senior citizens. Currently, the minimum investment is Rs 1,000 and the maximum is Rs 15 lakh with the guaranteed interest at 8.60 per cent per annum.

Section 80D: You can claim a tax deduction of health insurance premium, up to a maximum amount of Rs 25,000 on the health insurance premium for self and family. If you are a senior citizen, you can claim tax deduction on the premium of up to Rs 30,000.

NPS: The National Pension System (NPS) was launched on January 1, 2004, with the objective of providing retirement income to all the citizens. Initially it was for government recruits who have joined after January 1, 20104 (except armed forces). However, from May 1, 2009, the NPS is available to all Indian citizens including the unorganised sector.

Long-term capital gains on equities made tax free in 2004: When you sell a stock or mutual fund after a year—in some cases like gold, it is three years—you need to pay long-term capital gains tax. Equity mutual funds, where more than 65 per cent of the holding is equity, don’t have long-term cap gains tax, and neither does stock held for over a year but in both these cases you will pay a Securities Transaction Tax on the sale.

Retirement Mutual Fund: Schemes in which investments qualify for tax deductions under Section 80C. Until 2015, only two schemes—Franklin India Pension Fund and UTI Retirement Benefit Pension Fund existed. There are schemes from Reliance, HDFC and Tata that are also available now.

Section 80CCD: Announced in Budget 2015-16, under Section 80CCD of the Income Tax Act, one can claim additional deductions of Rs 50,000 on contributions to the NPS.

Form 15H: Senior citizens with nil tax on tax calculated can seek respite from TDS by furnishing Form 15H on submission of which TDS is not deducted, especially interest income from bank accounts.

Reverse Mortgage: In a boost to the reverse mortgage (RM) concept, the government in 2013 made annuity earned by senior citizens on RM loans tax-free. The limit on the annuity payout for 20 years was done away with and they are now for the lifetime of the borrower.

E-filing: Electronic filing of income tax returns was made compulsory for taxpayers earning an income of over Rs 5 lakh in 2013.

UAN: The Universal Account Number (UAN) was launched in 2014 and is allotted by the EPFO. It acts as an umbrella for multiple Member IDs allotted by different establishments. This helps members to view details of all the Member Identification Numbers (Member IDs) linked to it and accordingly manage their PF contributions.

Section 80C limit enhanced: To enhance household savings, the government increased the exemption limit for investments by individuals in financial instruments to Rs 1.5 lakh in 2014.

EPF exposure to equities: After years of debate in allowing EPF money into equity markets, the finance ministry directed the labour ministry, which managed the EPFO to have a minimum 5 per cent equity exposure, going up to 15 per cent. In 2015, the EPFO invested about Rs 6,000 crore in equity markets through ETFs.

Mandatory PAN: The permanent account number (PAN) has become mandatory at the time of investing. In its bid to curtail black money, the finance ministry enforced all transactions above `2 lakh to quote PAN.

Retirement Advisors: The PFRDA introduced norms for retirement advisors who will be qualified to guide people on the NPS and retirement planning in January 2016, which will help people understand their retirement needs a lot better.

Monthly Income Scheme (MIS): You can opt for investments that will provide for monthly income such as the Post Office Monthly Income Scheme, which pays out 7.80 per cent returns per annum payable monthly currently.

Senior benefits: Senior citizens generally earn an additional 0.5 interest on bank deposits, especially when banking with public sector banks. You can also avail travel concession on tickets by train and select airlines.

olmdesk@outlookindia.com