Post Office Schemes: What Are The Best Options for Senior Citizens?

When it comes to investment opportunities for senior citizens, most investors look for options that are very low risk and provide stable returns. Since most senior citizens are retired and do not have any active major earning activities, their investment savings are the major source of income for them. Naturally, they wish to keep their retirement savings protected in low-risk investment instruments. Fortunately, the government has introduced various low-risk investment options through post-office schemes that senior citizens can benefit from, immensely. Let’s take a look at these post office investment schemes and their salient features.

The Post Office Senior Citizens Saving Scheme is a government savings scheme aimed specifically at providing services to senior citizens. Any citizen with a minimum age of 60 years and above is eligible to create an account under this scheme. Certain government employees who have taken voluntary retirement are also eligible under this scheme at the minimum ages of 50 and 55 years old. The minimum amount of investment is ₹1000, and the maximum limit is ₹15 lakh. The interest rate applicable under this scheme is 7.4% which will be paid out quarterly. The tenure of this post office scheme for senior citizens is 5 years but it can be extended by another 3 years by re-submitting the required documents.

Note: The Senior Citizens Saving Scheme (SCSS) is the only post office scheme for senior citizens. However, other post office investment schemes are also extremely low-risk since they are backed by the government and can be utilized by senior citizens.

The Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (POMIS) is a unique investment scheme that offers a monthly interest payout on a lump-sum amount deposited by the investor. All Indian citizens are eligible for opening this account and the account can also be opened in a joint-account capacity. The minimum amount of investment under this scheme is ₹1000 and the maximum investment limit is ₹4.5 lakh. For a joint account, this limit goes up to ₹9 lakh. The current interest rate offered under this scheme is 6.6% per annum which is paid monthly and tax is applicable on the interest earnings. The maturity period for this scheme is 5 years at the end of which the investor will get all of his investment back along with any pending interest. The investors can also withdraw funds after one year but some minor penalties would be applicable.

The Post Office Time Deposit is an investment scheme that offers multiple tenure options with different interest rates. Under this scheme, the minimum amount to be invested is ₹1000 and there is no maximum upper limit. A single or joint account can be opened under this scheme. Guardians can also open an account for minors under this scheme. Moreover, once the time deposit has matured, it will automatically renew under the same tenure with the same applicable rate of interest. You can take a look at interest rates for different tenures under the Post Office Time Deposit below:

This scheme was initially launched in 1988 as a saving scheme specifically for farmers but has been opened up for all citizens since. The minimum amount to be invested under this scheme is ₹1000 with no maximum upper limit and multiple accounts can also be opened under this scheme. The interest earned under this scheme is taxable. The scheme offers an interest rate of 6.9% which is compounded annually. The investor can choose to prematurely close this scheme after 2 years and 6 months and withdraw their invested funds.

The National Savings Certificate is another post office investment scheme with a maturity period of 5 years. The minimum investment amount under this scheme is ₹1000 and there is no maximum upper limit. The NSC Certificate can be purchased as a single account or a joint account with 3 members. This scheme provides a 6.8% rate of interest compounded semi-annually. The total interest is payable only at maturity. This scheme is a zero-risk investment scheme that will offer guaranteed returns at maturity.