For Mothers’ Day on May 11, if you’re buying your mother a sari and sending her a bouquet, why not add a little something to plump up her financial kitty too? Here are a few simple things you could do.

Fixed Deposit One simple step is to open a bank fixed deposit (FD) in your mother’s name with a nomination in your name. If your mother is a senior citizen, it’s even better since the interest rate offered is higher. Go for the interest payout option if she’s in need of regular cash flows. Else, opt for compounding of interest, which she can set aside for a rainy day.

Buy insurance We all know that medical costs are escalating by the year; so why not get health insurance cover for your mother? True, your employer’s health insurance scheme may have an option of including parents as well. But that may not be adequate; an additional cover helps.

Also, public sector banks offer health policies for seniors with favourable terms. For instance, you can take a new policy from PNB, OBC and Indian Bank for those up to the age of 80; most insurers and other banks have an entry age of around 60-65 years and may allow renewals till the insured turns 80.

For a sum assured of ₹5 lakh, the premium in the policies offered by such banks is around ₹7,000 per annum for those less than 65 years and ₹9,000-11,000 per annum for those who are in the 65-80 age band.

Before you sign up, evaluate the schemes to check if they cover your mother’s pre-existing conditions and if they include any other restrictions in coverage. If you’re going for cashless hospitalisation, check if the hospitals in the insurer’s network are conveniently accessible.

Beyond banks If your mom has a source of income, say through pensions or rent, why let it idle in her bank? Plough some of them into safe investments apart from fixed deposits.

But this may be going out of her comfort zone; so polish your cajoling skills. For instance, based on age and other risk considerations, look into systematic investment plans in mutual funds. Consider debt-oriented balanced funds, short-term debt funds, or monthly income plans to earn better returns than fixed deposits. Also, from time to time, attractive debenture and bond offers from the highest-rated companies come up, which can be considered for lumpsum investments.

Expand access Even with the proliferation of ATMs, you may find that your mom is not very comfortable using them for transactions. For all you know, she may not even have an ATM card. Encouraging her to get a card and guiding her on using it would help her access money anytime.

And if she is at ease with using the internet, getting online transaction facilities for her bank account would expand the range of transactions she can do at her convenience from the comfortable confines of her favourite armchair.

Setting up automatic payments for utilities or online payments for electricity, water, and property taxes can reduce the stress that come with ensuring bills are paid on time.

Sort out papers Take the liberty of rummaging through her financial files and documents and organising them. Sort out papers according to investments — fixed deposits, bonds and insurance with their maturity or payment dates, which will make for easy accessibility at any time. Try to keep a soft copy of the information too.

You should also verify these investments to make sure the nomination details filled in are correct. Ensure that tax forms have been submitted and if the tax deducted is the right amount.

For instance, if no PAN is provided, the bank may deduct a higher TDS and you may have to claim it back. Also, if the investment was done through an agent, keep the agent’s contact information handy. Or, if she has only the haziest notion of where your father has invested or saved all the family finances, bring her up to date. And finally, is your mother an aspiring woman with an entrepreneurial bent? Expand her reach and take her business online!

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