3 post office schemes with just 5 year lock-in period offering up to 6.8% interest

Amid a bearish share market, some may have doubts about in investing equity-linked schemes. For such people, investing in the Post Office Small Savings Scheme can be a good option which also gives higher returns in the long term.

We will tell you three saving scheme of the Post Office that offers guaranteed returns. These schemes come with a lock-in of five years except for the Time Deposit (TD) scheme.

Investing money in these post office savings schemes has many benefits

1. 5-Year Post Office Recurring Deposit Account (RD)

An interest rate of 5.8​ % per annum can be earned through this on minimum deposits of Rs 100 per month.

There is no maximum limit. The interest rate compounded quarterly.

2. Post Office Time Deposit Account (TD)   

This scheme is a type of FD from the post office. Under this scheme, you can make deposits in the post office for one, two, three or five years.

The interest rate is 5.5% each on a 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year time deposit. While the rate is 6.7% on a 5-year time deposit. There is also a tax benefit of Rs 1.5 lakh under section 80C of the IT Act for a 5-year TD.

Under this scheme, you can open an account with a minimum deposit of Rs 1000. You can invest as much as you want in multiples of 100. There is no maximum limit for investment.

National Savings Certificates (NSC)

This scheme comes with a lock-in period of 5 years. The interest rate is 6.8%. You can invest a minimum of Rs 1,000 and there is no maximum limit.

Deposits under the scheme qualify for the benefits under section 80C of the IT Act.  

This scheme allows you to withdraw your money only after the completion of 5 years lock-in period. However, under some conditions, you can withdraw the investments prematurely.

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