Everything to know about Senior Citizen Savings Scheme

What is Senior Citizen Savings Scheme? Retirement brings with itself several complications and doubts, but there are savings products that are safe and ensure guaranteed retirement income. The Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS), launched in 2004, is a deposit scheme introduced by the Government of India to provide guaranteed returns to senior citizens. This scheme ensures a regular income stream for senior citizens post- retirement. Features of Senior Citizen Savings Scheme Eligibility: You need to be a resident Indian to open an account. Entry age: 60 years. 55 years for those who have retired on superannuation or under a voluntary or special voluntary scheme. The retired personnel of defence services (excluding civilian-defence employees) are eligible to invest on attaining the age of 50 years subject to the fulfilment of the specified conditions. Investments: Minimum: Rs 1,000. Maximum: Rs 15 lakh (Rs 30 lakh jointly with spouse). Deposits have to be in multiples of Rs 1,000. Only one deposit is allowed. *Starting April 1, 2023, the government has increased the investment ceiling for the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh for individual accounts and from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 60 lakh for accounts held jointly with a spouse. Tenure: Five years; can be extended by three more years. Account-holding categories: (i) Individual (ii) Jointly with spouse (iii) Multiple accounts allowed. Nomination: Facility is available. Exit option: Premature closing of the account is permitted with a penalty. Capital protection and inflation protection The capital in the SCSS is completely protected, as the scheme is backed by the Government of I

This article was originally published on January 03, 2022, and last updated on February 14, 2023.