‘Dad has received a few lakhs from his company, must be his Provident Fund, Gratuity, etc. It’s his hard earned money, where should we invest?’ Manish asked Jay while sipping a coffee.

‘No clue. Fixed Deposit (FD) maybe’ Jay said while putting his coffee down.

‘FD is great but doesn’t offer a good rate of interest.’ Manish replied.

‘Yeah. One of my friend was also talking about Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS)’ Jay said while he picked up the bowl of potato finger chips.

‘SCSS sounds good.’ Manish replied.

‘At this age, he will also look for some regular income coming in his bank from his investments. Do you remember the last time, we offered him to buy new spectacles?’ Jay was relishing his coffee and potato finger chips.

‘Yes, I can never forget that day. He said that he can still take care of himself and our children too. He is a self-made man and we need to respect his freedom.’ Manish said while recalling that incident. He almost had tears of respect for his Dad in his eyes.

‘Maximum of Rs. 15 Lakhs can be deposited in this account. Dad has received Rs. 14.50 lakhs, so we are well within the deposit limit to opt for this scheme.’ Jay was searching about the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme.

‘Great. Shall we open this with a Bank or Post Office?’ Manish enquired.

‘Bank! They have better service and will take good care of Dad when he visits there. Post office usually has long queues which are never ending. And Dad being Dad, he will himself go and do all this work. So for him Bank will be the best option.’ Jay was looking at his bowl of potato finger chips which Manish was about to complete.

‘Okay. So as I can see SCSS can be opened in any bank. Dad will go for a Nationalised Bank because he has a lot of faith in them. The irony! Let me write down what’s required.’ Manish said.

Documents for opening a Senior Citizen Savings Scheme Account

1. Form A has to be filled.
2. Identity proof – PAN card /Passport. (Self-Attested)
3. Address proof – Light Bill / Telephone bill / Aadhar card. (Self-Attested)
4. Age Proof Document is required – Passport, Senior Citizen Card, Birth certificate, Voter ID.
5. 2 Passport size photographs.

Rate of Interest– 8.60% p.a. payable on Quarterly basis

Tenure– 5 years with an option to extend it for further 3 years. (Only 1 extension is allowed by filling Form B)

Premature Withdrawal

1. 1 year lock-in period and no withdrawals allowed.
2. Withdrawals after 1 year but before 2 years, Penalty of 1.5%
3. Withdrawals after 2 years, penalty charges are a percent of the amount withdrawn.

‘What about Tax? Dad is more concerned about Income Tax then who will World Cup this year’ Jay said.

‘Yes, although the interest income is taxable but a deduction of Rs. 50,000 is available under Section 80TTB for Senior Citizens. Dad can also avoid TDS by filling Form 15H as his total income will be below taxable limits.’ Manish said.

‘So Dad’s interest income would be Rs. 1,24,700 from which Rs. 50,000 can be deducted under the section. He will be very happy looking at that’ Jay said.

‘Also, investments in SCSS is tax deductible under section 80C. So if Dad doesn’t want to invest at one go, then he will also be able to take advantage’ Manish said.

‘Yes. Let’s leave that decision to him. Right now, regular income would be more of his concern’ Jay smiled as he finished his coffee.

‘So let’s go through the list of Forms now. We should be prepared if he asks us questions on them’ Manish mocked Jay while finishing his last potato finger chip.

Form A – To open a SCSS Account

Form B – Extension of SCSS Account tenure for further 3 years

Form C – Nomination

Form E – Closure of SCSS Account at Maturity

Form F –Premature Closure or Death of Depositor / SCSS Account holder, then Nominee to carry out the process of Closure of Account

‘Okay! Time well spent. Dad will be really happy to see that we did our homework before speaking with him’ Jay said.

‘Yeah, we never used to do our homework anyways and he would get so upset’ Manish replied.

Jay and Manish got up and hugged their Dad. Their smiles were big and eyes were with filled with pride.

– Jinay Savla