Know in Detail About the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme

The concept of investing your funds wisely, as a Senior Citizen, has always been prevalent. Earlier it was merely to ensure a comfortable and stable post-retirement life. With change in times and the concept of nuclear families, it became more about personal financial security. And today, it also involves fulfilling lifelong desires of travel, possession of luxuries, etc.

But before, elaborating further the golden question remains- What is Investment? It means putting your money with a certain entity to get interest and a return on that money. Just like we have savings at home or in the bank, investing involves putting the same money somewhere else for better returns.

Investments are a huge part of money management. Even the best of investors like Warren Buffet, being 90 years old, still display a lot of prudence and give a lot of importance to parking your funds at the right avenue. If one of the world’s biggest business magnates can do it, then any user at just 60 or above must for sure invest.

In short, it all comes down to making the right investments. While the National Pension Scheme (NPS) took care of the post-retirement aspects, the government foresaw other needs and hence launched the Senior Citizen Saving Scheme (SCSS) in 2004. The aim of launching this scheme was to meet the nuclear family aspect. After inheritance procedures were completed, senior citizens were often sent off to Old Age Homes. While this happens presently as well, now, they have an option to secure their finances with this scheme.

The scheme provides them with a regular flow of income to meet recurring and basic expenses. It provides for interest payment on a quarterly basis. However, since it is a government scheme; the interest rates are adjusted in accordance with needs of the retirees.

Eligibility Criteria

The scheme is only for citizens of India, any persons that are non-residents do not qualify (Non-residential Indians, Overseas Citizens of India, Persons of Indian Origin) and the Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) also are not eligible
Senior citizens as defined in the Indian context include individuals who are 60 years of age or more, so they are eligible but there are some exceptions too:
Candidates in the age bracket of 55-60 years who have opted for Voluntary Retirement Scheme or Superannuation are eligible as long as they apply within a month of receiving their retirement perks
Defence Personnel can avail this scheme irrespective of age provided they fulfil other conditions
The minimum deposit for the scheme is Rs 1000

Benefits

Being a government scheme, the SCSS offers a number of benefits like:

It offers a reasonable rate of return on the investment made
It is very easy to open, operate or transfer it at any authorized bank or post office
It offers flexibility to an extent of one extension of 3 years after the maximum permissible period of 5 years has elapsed

Interest Rates and Calculation

Users can use the Bajaj FD Interest Calculator and see the highest FD rates. They can also use this to ascertain the efficacy of the SCSS and make prudent decisions for the future. The same details as for FD calculation will be required for SCSS’s future’s computation. These include:

Interest Rates
Time Period
Contribution per month

Thus, it is rather simple to use the calculator and you can easily go to Bajaj Finance’s website for any further doubts on the same. Additionally, as a Senior Citizen the company offers you an additional interest rate of 0.25% making your net rate 6.75%. Added to this is the benefit of untimely withdrawals, keeping in mind the need for money in old age. But as a whole too, the Bajaj Finance FD is as good or probably a much better option than the SCSS.

This is because of the following reasons:

Benefits

High Interest Rates
Special offers to Senior Citizens
Benefits to Pravasi Bhartiyas (NRIs)
High Credibility and Stability
Flexible Time Frames
Fixed Deposit Interest Rate Calculator
Smaller Minimum Deposit
Digitalized Application Process
Online Loan against FD
Auto-renewal

Thus, we come back to the same question- What is Investment? It is a method to fulfil necessity of growing your money for the future. Investing your money is as important as earning an income. To grow your money with easy liquidity and guaranteed returns with less risk, Fixed Deposit is the best investment option of all. Bajaj Finance FD, as explained above, would be a great choice. But if you’re looking at a government scheme then the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) is a good option, today as well. It is all about your needs but the fact remains that, you should invest.

Comparison between Bajaj Finance Fixed Deposit and Senior Citizen Saving Scheme

Lock-in of 5 years

SCSS requires a lock-in period of five years and without flexibility of withdrawal with just a one-time account extension of up to 3 years is allowed. Whereas, Bajaj Finance Fixed Deposits offer flexible tenors ranging from 12-60 months.

Investment Limit

The maximum investment in SCSS is Rs.15 lakhs. On the other hand, Bajaj Finance Fixed Deposits allow you to invest up to 1 crore.

Method of Investment

To deposit an amount exceeding Rs.1 lakh for SCSS you need to use a cheque/demand draft to make a deposit. A fixed deposit account opening is possible online easily. Bajaj Finance offers the facility of online FD account and you can utilise online FD returns calculator before investing.

Eligibility

A Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) is prohibited from opening an SCSS account whereas they can invest in Bajaj Finance Fixed Deposits.

Interest payout frequency

You can opt for periodic interest payout like monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually with Bajaj Finance Non-cumulative FDs but these options are not available with SCSS accounts.