Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) interest rate July-September 2026 announced; check details

The government has decided to keep the SCSS interest rate for the July-September quarter unchanged. This means senior citizens can continue to enjoy the 8.2% interest on fresh SCSS investments. The existing deposits will continue to earn the rate at which they were started.

Accordingly, the Finance Ministry can decide SCSS interest rate based on the prevailing 5-year G-Sec yield in the secondary market plus 0.25%. However, the final decision to revise the SCSS interest rate lies with the government, which may not strictly follow the committee's recommendations. This is the reason why the SCSS interest rate has remained unchanged at 8.2% since April 1, 2023.

Key points to know about SCSS?

SCSS is an exclusive small savings scheme for senior citizens. It is currently offering 8.2% interest rate, which is higher than the 5-year fixed deposit interest rates offered by leading banks like State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank of India, Axis Bank, and others. It is also higher than the FD rates currently offered by most small finance banks and NBFCs.

Senior citizens and retirees prefer investing in this scheme as it offers stable and guaranteed returns. Senior citizens can get a guaranteed quarterly interest income by depositing up to ₹30 lakh per person.

As per the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme Rules 2019, a senior citizen aged 60 years or above can open a SCSS account. The scheme's benefits can also be availed by retired civilian employees above 55 years and below 60 years, and retired defence employees aged above 50 years and below 60 years.

The scheme allows both single and joint accounts. This means senior citizens can open their SCSS accounts either individually or jointly with their spouses. However, the total amount of deposit in a joint account is attributed to the first account holder. For senior citizen couples planning to invest the maximum possible amount in SCSS, it would be better to have separate accounts in their names.