Is it permissible to deposit money in banks and live off its returns, considering the difficult circumstances in Egypt and the fear of accumulating debts and being unable to repay them at an advanced age?

It is not permissible to deposit savings in interest-based banks, because dealing with usury is one of the major sins, the doer of which was cursed by the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, as stated in Sahih Muslim: "The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, cursed the one who consumes riba (usury), the one who pays it, the one who writes it down, and the two who witness it, and he said: 'They are all equal (in sin).'" Borrowing is permissible if the borrower intends to repay, but dealing with usury is forbidden by the Qur'an, Sunnah, and scholarly consensus.