Retirees impacted by low interest rates

Lower gains: People wearing protective masks maintain social distancing while waiting in line in Kuala Lumpur. The fall in the overnight policy rate began this year and accelerated as the Covid-19 pandemic spread, affecting fixed-deposit returns. — Bloomberg

THE low interest rate environment has made it more difficult to find risk-free returns, making the life of retirees who put their savings into fixed-deposit (FD) instruments for returns more difficult.

While interest rates have been on a falling trend globally, especially in the more developed economies, the trend seems to have caught on in Malaysia.

“I can find that some banks still do offer up to 2.25% per annum for a longer tenure of placement, ” said a retiree.