How to open a Senior Citizens' Savings Scheme (SCSS) account at a post office or bank: who can, how much you can put in, when interest is paid and how the account is closed.
For whom: People in Telangana aged 60 or more; retired people aged 55 or more; Defence Services retirees aged 50 or more; the husband or wife of a government employee who died in service; and family members helping them.
Published on 30-10-2026. Not every fact has been checked against its official source yet: confirm at the office.
For everyone
1.
Go in person to a post office, or to a bank branch that runs the scheme. Say you want a Senior Citizens' Savings Scheme (SCSS) account.
🏛️ Post office or bank
Not confirmed: The scheme's application is addressed to a "Post Office/Bank", but we found no current official list of the banks that run the scheme. Ask at your bank branch.
2.
Fill in Form-1, paste your photograph and hand it in with the documents. Give your mobile number and name your nominees (up to four). If you already have SCSS accounts, the application asks for their details.
🏛️ Post office or bank
📎 Account opening application (Form-1), A recent passport-size photograph, Aadhaar number, PAN card or Form 60, Proof of date of birth, Proof of identity and address, Deposit slip (SB-103)
Only if
Which of these is true for you? I have retired from my job (on reaching the age, voluntarily or otherwise) / I retired from the Defence Services (Army, Navy or Air Force), not as a civilian employee / My husband or wife was a government employee who died in service at 50 or older
3.
Attach the proof of the date the retirement benefits were paid and the certificate from the employer. The deposit cannot be more than the retirement benefits you received (and the ₹30 lakh limit also applies).
🏛️ Post office or bank
📎 Proof of the date the retirement benefits were paid, Certificate from the employer
Not confirmed: The cap at the retirement benefits received is stated for people of 55 to 59 who have retired; ask whether it also applies to Defence retirees and to the spouse of an employee who died in service.
Only if
Will the account be in your name alone, or joint with your husband or wife? Jointly with my husband or wife
4.
A joint account can only be with your husband or wife. Eligibility goes by the first holder's age; there is no age limit for the second. The whole deposit counts as the first holder's. If both of you are eligible on your own, each can also open an account in their own name, up to ₹30 lakh in each.
🏛️ Post office or bank
📎 Husband's or wife's Aadhaar, PAN and photograph
For everyone
5.
You make only one deposit in the account: at least ₹1,000, in multiples of ₹1,000. All your SCSS accounts together cannot hold more than ₹30 lakh. You can pay in cash, by crossed cheque, demand draft or pay order, from your savings account in the same post office, or by electronic transfer. With a cheque, the deposit date is the day the cheque is cleared. Anything over the limit is refunded at once and earns only savings-account interest.
🏛️ Post office or bank
Not confirmed: The 2019 scheme and the 2018 rules accept cash; we found no separate cash limit for SCSS in them. Before taking a large amount in cash, ask the post office or bank.
6.
Once the account is open, collect the passbook (or deposit receipt) and keep it safe. You need it to close the account.
🏛️ Post office or bank
7.
Interest is paid every quarter, on the first working day of April, July, October and January. From 1 October to 31 December 2026 the rate is 8.2% a year, that is ₹205 a quarter for every ₹10,000. Give the form to have it paid straight into your savings account. Interest you do not collect earns no further interest, but you can collect it any time later. The Finance Ministry announces the rates every quarter.
🏛️ Post office or bank
Not confirmed: The rules we read do not say in so many words that the rate on the day you open the account stays for all five years. When you open it, ask which rate applies to your account and check the passbook.
8.
After five years, give Form-3 with the passbook to collect the money. You can ask for it to be put into your savings account, or paid by cheque or draft. A matured account that is neither closed nor extended earns only savings-account interest. After closing, you may open a new account again, within the limit.
🏛️ Post office or bank
📎 Passbook or deposit receipt
9.
To extend the account by three more years, give Form-4 within one year of maturity. You can extend again at the end of each three-year block. Whenever you apply, the extension counts from the maturity date. The extended account earns the rate in force on the date of maturity. If you close it within a year of an extension, 1% of the deposit is deducted; after a year, nothing is deducted.
🏛️ Post office or bank
📎 Passbook or deposit receipt
10.
If you need the money before maturity, give Form-2 to close the account. Part withdrawals are not allowed. Closed within one year, the interest already paid is taken back from the deposit. Between one and two years, 1.5% of the deposit is deducted. After two years, 1% is deducted.
🏛️ Post office or bank
📎 Passbook or deposit receipt
11.
If the account holder dies, the nominee or legal heirs give Form-3 to claim the money. Scheme interest is paid up to the date of death, then savings-account interest. In a joint account, or where the husband or wife is the only nominee, they may apply to continue the same account if they are eligible themselves.
🏛️ Post office or bank
You cannot get this
Only Indian citizens living in India can open an account under this scheme.
You cannot get this
Under 60, you can join only if you have retired (at 55 or older), retired from the Defence Services (at 50 or older), or are the spouse of a government employee who died in service.
Instead, see:
Once you are 60 you can open one without these conditions.
You cannot get this
People who retired from a job other than the Defence Services can open this account only from 55.
Instead, see:
Once you are 60 you can open one without these conditions.
You cannot get this
Defence Services retirees can open this account only from 50.
You cannot get this
Under 60, the account must be opened within three months of receiving the retirement benefits, and that time has passed.
Instead, see:
Once you are 60 you can open one without these conditions.
Documents you need
Account opening application (Form-1)
original
If you don't have it:
Ask for it at the post office or bank.
A recent passport-size photograph
original
One of each person opening the account; it is pasted on the application.
📷 What the photo must look like
• It must be recent.
Not confirmed: The rules say only "a recent passport size photograph"; they give no size or background colour. Ask at the post office or bank.
Aadhaar number
copy
If you do not have Aadhaar yet, proof that you applied for enrolment is accepted; then give the number within six months, or the account stops working until you do.
Without PAN, Form 60 of the Income Tax Rules. But once the balance is over ₹50,000, you must give your PAN within two months, or the account stops working until you do.
A certificate showing your date of birth. The application asks for its number, date of issue and issuing authority.
Not confirmed: The scheme does not list which documents count as proof of date of birth. Ask at the post office or bank.
Proof of identity and address
copy
Any of: passport, driving licence, voter ID card, NREGA job card signed by a State Government officer, or a National Population Register letter with your name and address.
Deposit slip (SB-103)
original
If you don't have it:
Available at the post office counter.
Proof of the date the retirement benefits were paid
copy
Certificate from the employer
original
It must show the details of the retirement, the retirement benefits (or, for an employee who died in service, the financial help given), the post held and how long the person worked there.
If you don't have it:
Get it from the office where the person worked.
Husband's or wife's Aadhaar, PAN and photograph
copy
The application asks for these as the second account holder.
Passbook or deposit receipt
original
If something goes wrong
If it is rejected
If the post office refuses to open the account, ask the postmaster why. Then complain to India Post: on its website, at any post office, or to the call centre on 1800 266 6868 (8 AM to 8 PM).
For delays such as interest not credited or the money from a closed account not paid, complain to India Post within 60 days of the transaction. If it is not settled, go to the Circle Nodal Officer, then to the Directorate of Public Grievances (DPG) of the Government of India.
For a problem with an account opened at a bank, first complain to the bank in writing. If there is no reply in 30 days, or you are not satisfied, complain free of charge to the RBI Ombudsman on cms.rbi.org.in (within 90 days after that). On 14448 they explain how to complain, in Telugu too.
Not confirmed: The three-month limit is stated plainly for people of 55 to 59 who have retired. For Defence retirees and for the spouse of a government employee who died in service, the rule only says "subject to the fulfilment of other specified conditions". We take these to be the same conditions; confirm at the post office or bank.
Updated on 30-10-2026
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