From SBI to PNB, all behind… Post Office Scheme People’s Choice, Start at Rs 1000

Post-office: Investing in post office is considered very safe, but now post office schemes are ahead of all banks in terms of security and returns. One such great scheme is the Post Office Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (Post Office SCSS Scheme), which is specifically for senior citizens and offers over 8 percent annual interest on investments. Compared to that, if we talk about FDs in banks, there is less interest given to senior citizens.

You can start investing from 1000 rupees

This government scheme is also included in the list of Post Office’s most loved schemes in terms of regular income and tax exemption. You can start investing with a minimum of Rs 1,000 by opening an account in this. The maximum investment limit in this senior citizen saving scheme has been fixed at 30 lakh rupees.

This post office scheme can prove to be very helpful in staying financially prosperous after retirement. In this a joint account can be opened with any person or spouse aged 60 years or above.

5 years maturity

Account holder has to invest for 5 years in Post Office Senior Citizen Saving Scheme. However, if the account is closed before this period, the account holder will have to pay a penalty as per the rules. You can easily open your SCSS account by visiting any nearby post office.

Age relaxation is also given in some cases under this scheme. As the age of VRS taker can be more than 55 years and less than 60 years at the time of account opening, similarly the age of retired defense personnel can be more than 50 years and less than 60 years. Certain restrictions and conditions are also imposed for this.

Better interest than this bank FD

On one hand Post Office Senior Citizen Saving Scheme is offering 8.2 percent interest, on the other hand, all banks in the country are offering only 7.00 to 7.75 percent interest to senior citizens on FD for the same period i.e. 5 years.

If we look at the FD rates of banks, country’s largest bank SBI offers 7.50 per cent interest on five-year FD to senior citizens, ICICI Bank 7.50 per cent, Punjab National Bank (PNB) 7 per cent and HDFC Bank 7.50 per cent interest per annum.

You also get the benefit of tax exemption

The account holder also gets the benefit of tax exemption in this scheme of post office. An individual investing in SCSS is given an annual tax exemption of up to Rs 1.5 lakh under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. This scheme has a provision to pay the interest amount every three months.

In which interest is paid on the first day of every April, July, October and January. If the account holder dies before the maturity date, the account is closed and the entire amount is transferred to the nominee mentioned in the documents.