Senior Citizen Savings Scheme 2023: Now you can deposit up to ₹ 30  lakh, see benefits

Senior Citizen Savings Scheme: – Senior Citizen Savings Scheme is a savings scheme launched by the Government of India for the elderly. Senior Citizen Savings Scheme is considered to be the best savings scheme for the elderly. Because in this, the government gives the highest interest to the elderly and the highest tax exemption is also given.

Since the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme is a government scheme, citizens are not at risk of losing money. In Hindi, this scheme is also called  Senior Citizen Savings Scheme.  In the Union Budget presented on February 1, 2023, the government has increased the maximum limit amount of deposits in the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme to  Rs 30 lakh.

If you are also an elderly citizen and are thinking of investing your money, then the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme will be very beneficial for you. Today we  will provide you information related to Senior Citizen Savings Scheme  through this article. Therefore, this article will be in detail till the end to get important information related to the scheme.

Post Office Senior Citizen Saving Scheme 2023

Senior Citizen Savings Scheme is a savings scheme run by the Government of India for the elderly. In this scheme, benefits ranging from tax to interest are given. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget on February 1  , 2023, has doubled the deposit amount under the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme  for senior citizens. The maximum deposit limit for the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme  was Rs 15  lakh, which  has been increased to Rs 30 lakh.

However, this facility  will   be applicable from April 1, 2023, at the beginning of  the fasting year 2023-24  . Senior citizens  can deposit up to Rs 30  lakh under this scheme. Due to which senior citizens will get the benefit of more savings in this scheme.  Any citizen of 60 years of age can invest in this scheme. However, no NRI and HUF citizen can invest in this scheme. Under the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme,  an account can be opened for at least Rs 1000.

Senior citizens can invest in  savings scheme from Rs 1000  to Rs 30  lakh

An account can be opened by depositing at least Rs 1000  in the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme. In this scheme, investors  could deposit up to a maximum of Rs 15 lakh. Recently, the maximum deposit amount has been increased to  Rs 30 lakh in the budget of 2023  by  the government. However, this limit  will be implemented during the financial year 2023-24 i.e. from April 1  , 2023  .

Now senior citizens  will be able to get the benefit of more savings by investing up to a maximum of Rs 30 lakh in this scheme. For retirement employees, the total amount deposited in this scheme should not exceed the amount that they have received as retirement benefit from the job. In this scheme, cash  money can be deposited only up to Rs 1 lakh. If you want to deposit more money than this then you have to deposit it through bank check.

    Get a fixed income every 3 months

In the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, the investor  gets a fixed income installment every quarter for the next 5 years on depositing money. This income is sent to the beneficiary’s savings account on the first date of the quarter. That is, every year  on April 1, July 1, October  1 and January 1,  the investor gets interest money. If there is a banking holiday on that day, the investor gets the money on the next working day.

The entire amount deposited is refunded on completion of the 5-year period. Because the deposit that is provided to you under this scheme is in the form of your income i.e. interest on the deposit you make. In this way, you get full money in this scheme and you also get regular income during the duration of the plan.

Deposit   will get 8% interest annually

Under the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme by the Government of India, the interest rate has been increased to 8%  from January 1  , 2023. Earlier, the scheme  used to earn only 7.6% interest. With the increase in the rate of interest, this scheme has now become the highest interest-paying government scheme.

The new interest rate of the first Senior Citizen Savings Scheme is announced by the government in the quarter of every financial year. The highest increase in the last quarters has been made in this scheme. Whatever the interest rate from the date of the account by the investor, it  will be applicable to your account for the next 5 years. Changing the interest rate in between has no effect on the already opened account. You can get a good interest rate by investing in the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme.

 Maturity Date of Senior Citizen Savings Scheme

The Senior Citizen Savings Scheme of the Government of India is a short-term investment scheme. The maturity limit in this scheme is 5 years. If desired,  the investor can extend its maturity period for 3  years within 1 year after maturity. There is no charge of any kind on withdrawing money after the partner maturity.

An account extension can be applied for within 1 year to extend the maturity period. If  you extend the account for 3  years,  then you can close it at any time after the completion of 1 year, in which case no amount will be deducted from your deposit.

 Rules  for withdrawing  money before maturity

If you want to withdraw money before time under the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, then penalty rules apply based on the time between opening the account and withdrawal. The penalty rules for premature withdrawal are as follows.

• If the account is closed before the completion of 2  years from the date of opening the account, 5%  of the deposit amount is deducted as penalty.
• In the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, if the investor wants to withdraw money between 2   to 5  years from the opening of the account, then 1% of the deposit amount will be deducted as a penalty.

 Advantages of Investing in Senior Citizen Savings Scheme

• Senior citizens get the safest and most reliable investment option by investing in the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme.
• In the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, you can open an account for at least Rs 1000 .
• Any citizen of 60 years of age can invest in this scheme.
• The maximum deposit   amount can be 30 lakhs or the amount received on retirement whichever is less.
• The entire amount deposited is refunded on completion of the 5-year period.
• The  scheme offers an interest rate of 8% per annum. Which is especially high compared to traditional investment options like FD and savings account.
• In the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, the interest amount is paid quarterly which ensures the payment of the term in the investment. That is, after every 3 months you will continue to get the benefit of interest amount.
• Under Section 80C  of the Income Tax Act, the investor gets the benefit of tax exemption of Rs 1.5  lakh per annum on investing in the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme.
• The process of investing under this scheme is quite simple.
• Senior Citizen Savings Account can be opened in any post office of any authorized bank of India.

Name of the banks where senior citizens can open an account under the Savings Scheme.

• Bank of Baroda
• Corporation Bank
• State Bank of India
• Andhra Bank
• Vijaya Bank
• Bank of India
• Punjab National Bank
• Syndicate Bank
• UCO Bank
• Canara Bank
• ICICI Bank
• Allahabad Bank
• Dena Bank
• Union Bank of India
• Canara Bank
• IDBI Bank

 Eligibility for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme

• Any citizen of India can open a Senior Citizen Savings Account.
• Ordinary citizens who have completed 60 years of age can open the account.
• Employees retiring or taking VRS  will be eligible to open a Senior Citizen Savings Account at the age of 50 years.
• The facility of opening an account before the age of 60 years is available to such employees on the condition that they  open the account within 1 month of receiving the retirement benefit.
• Foreign nationals or Indians who have acquired citizenship of any other country are not allowed to open a Senior Citizen Savings Account.
• In this account, joint account with spouse has been allowed.
• The minimum age condition will apply only to the main account holder on opening a joint account. Irrespective of the age of the other account holder (spouse), he or she can be included to open a joint account.

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Papers required  for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme

• Identity Card
• Aadhar Card
• Residence certificate
• Age certificate
• Passport size photograph
• Mobile Number
• Email ID

Process    of opening an account under the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme

• To open an account under the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, first you have to go to your nearest bank or post office.
• By going there, you have to get the form to open a Senior Citizen Savings Account.
• You have to enter all the required information sought in the form.
• After this, you have to attach the form with a photocopy of KYC documents. It will include identity card, residence certificate, proof of age and two passport size photographs.
• After entering all the information, you have to submit the application form back to where you received it.
• In this way, you can open under the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme.