Post Office: A saving scheme is run in the post office keeping senior citizens in mind. The name of that scheme is Senior Citizen Saving Scheme (SCSS). In this scheme, interest is being given at the rate of 8.2%. Any Indian citizen above the age of 60 can invest in this scheme. Retired employees above the age of 55 and below the age of 60 can invest in this scheme. At the same time, retired defense personnel above 50 years of age and below 60 years of age can invest in this scheme. However, the condition for both of them is that they have invested within 1 month of receiving retirement benefits.
Higher interest than FD?
Post offices offer a variety of savings schemes for people of all ages, which are considered safe due to government guarantee. Interest rates on these schemes are often higher than FD rates of many banks. Post office also has schemes for senior citizens to ensure regular income. Post Office Senior Citizen Savings is one such scheme which offers attractive interest rate of 8.2%.
Investment starts from Rs 1000
Post Office Senior Citizen Savings Scheme is popular for regular income, safe investments and tax benefits. You can start investing with a minimum of Rs 1,000. The maximum investment limit is Rs 30 lakh. Investors get a tax deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.
Maturity Period
The investment period is 5 years. There is a penalty for premature closure. You can easily open an SCSS account in any post office. Age limit is relaxed in some cases.
How to get Rs 20,000 pension?
The minimum investment in the SCSS scheme is Rs 1,000, and the maximum is Rs 30 lakh. If you invest Rs 30 lakh at an interest rate of 8.2%, you will get Rs 2.46 lakh annually, which is approximately Rs 20,000 per month. Interest is paid on a quarterly basis on 1 April, July, October and January. If the account holder dies before maturity, the account is closed and the amount is given to the nominee.