The Government has made some changes to the Senior Citizen’s Savings Scheme (SCSS) through Senior Citizen’s Savings (Fourth Amendment) Scheme, 2023. The amendments were notified on November 7. The following is a summary of the important changes introduced through the amendment.
Premature closure
As per the new rules, in case the account is closed before expiry of one year from the date of extension, an amount equal to one per cent of the deposit shall be deducted and the balance shall be paid
to the account holder.
Maturity
The deposit made at the time of opening of account shall be paid on or after the expiry of five years or after the expiry of each block period of three years where account was extended from the date of opening of account, on an application made in Form-3.
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Account extension
The account holder may extend the SCSS account for a further block period of three years by making an application in Form-4 within a period of one year from the date of maturity or from the date of end of each block period of three years.
The extension of the account shall be deemed to have been made from the date of maturity or from the date of end of each block period of three years, irrespective of the date of application.
Joint Account after death of the primary account holder
In case of a joint account, or where the spouse is the sole nominee, the spouse may continue the account by applying to the accounts office, on the same terms and conditions as specified under this Scheme, if the spouse meets eligibility conditions under the Scheme on the date of death of the account
holder.
Interest on extension
In case of an account extended after maturity, the deposit in such account shall earn interest at the rate applicable to the scheme on the date of maturity or on the date of extended maturity.