SCSS interest rate had touched an all-time high (ATH) of 9.3% during the four quarters between 01-04-2012 and 31-03-2013.
Amid rising home loan and fixed deposit rates, senior citizens are hoping that the interest rate offered by the Government for SCSS may also increase further. The recent upward revision in Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) interest rate has raised hopes further.
SCSS interest rate had touched an all-time high (ATH) of 9.3% during the four quarters between 01-04-2012 and 31-03-2013. For investments between 01-04-2013 and 31-03-2015, the SCSS rate was reduced to 9.2%. It increased again to 9.3% between 01-04-2015 and 31-03-2016.
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However, like Public Provident Fund (PPF), the interest rate for deposits under SCSS started falling consistently since 2015, as per data on the Post Office Website.
The SCSS interest rate was revised to 8.6% between 01-04-2016 and 30-09-2016. Between 01-01-2018 and 30-09-2018, the SCSS interest rate dropped to 8.3%. However, it was revised upwards for the subsequent quarters.
The SCSS interest rate between 01-10-2018 and 30-06-2019 was 8.7%. Between 01-07-2019 and 31-03-2020, the SCSS rate was 8.6%.
SCSS Interest Rate Since 2004
| From | To | Interest Rate |
| 02-08-2004 | 30-11-2011 | 9 |
| 01-12-2011 | 31-03-2012 | 9 |
| 01-04-2012 | 31-03-2013 | 9.3 |
| 01-04-2013 | 31-03-2014 | 9.2 |
| 01-04-2014 | 17-11-2014 | 9.2 |
| 18-11-2014 | 20-01-2015 | 9.2 |
| 21-01-2015 | 31-03-2015 | 9.2 |
| 01-04-2015 | 31-03-2016 | 9.3 |
| 01-04-2016 | 30-09-2016 | 8.6 |
| 01-10-2016 | 31-03-2017 | 8.5 |
| 01-04-2017 | 30-06-2017 | 8.4 |
| 01-07-2017 | 31-12-2017 | 8.3 |
| 01-01-2018 | 30-09-2018 | 8.3 |
| 01-10-2018 | 31-12-2018 | 8.7 |
| 01-01-2019 | 31-03-2019 | 8.7 |
| 01-04-2019 | 30-06-2019 | 8.7 |
| 01-07-2019 | 30-09-2019 | 8.6 |
| 01-10-2019 | 31-12-2019 | 8.6 |
| 01-01-2020 | 31-03-2020 | 8.6 |
| 01-04-2020 | 30-09-2020 | 7.4 |
Source: Post Office
The biggest drop in SCSS interest rate came during the pandemic when the Government decreased the rate to 7.4% from 01-04-2020. The SCSS rate remained unchanged until recently.
For the October-December quarter of FY 2022-23, the Government has increased the SCSS interest rate to 7.6%.
As fixed deposit and small savings interest rates have started going up, senior citizens may expect a gradual upward revision in the SCSS in the upcoming quarters. However, any sudden big jump is not expected.
The SCSS interest rate for the January-March quarter would be announced by the end of this month.
Should you invest in SCSS?
While the details of any new SCSS interest rate would be known only by the end of this month, SCSS is a must-have investment scheme for senior citizens. Even as the current interest rate of 7.6% appears to be low, compared to higher returns one may get from investing in schemes like mutual funds, SCSS is designed to give peace of mind to senior citizen depositors.
