Interest rates on small saving instruments have been steadily spiraling downwards, which is a move that has deep impact for your money and future. In little over a decade, we have come a long way from high assured return and low inflation rate regime to its reverse—returns are falling and inflation is on the rise. The net impact of the two is that for most of us, there is little money in hand, even as life’s demands go up. So, on March 18, when the government announced that the interest rates for various small savings schemes will be cut from April 1, 2016—it effectively sealed the fate of those looking for some comfortable time in their retirement years.