PPF, SSY, NSC or SCSS: Choosing a Small Savings Scheme in 2026

The government resets interest rates on small savings schemes every quarter, notified by the Finance Ministry. Because of that, any article quoting a rate as permanent is misleading you. What does not change quarter to quarter is the structure of these schemes — the lock-in, the tax treatment, who is allowed to open one — and that structure is what should drive your choice.

Always confirm the current quarter rate on the official notification at nsiindia.gov.in or at your post office before committing money. Then use the comparison below to decide which scheme the money belongs in.

What each scheme is actually for

Scheme	Who can open it	Lock-in	Tax on interest
PPF	Any resident individual	15 years, extendable in 5-year blocks	Fully exempt
Sukanya Samriddhi (SSY)	Parent of a girl below 10	21 years from opening	Fully exempt
NSC	Any resident individual	5 years	Taxable, but reinvested interest counts for 80C
SCSS	Age 60+, or 55+ on superannuation	5 years, extendable by 3	Taxable; quarterly payout
Post Office MIS	Any resident individual	5 years	Taxable; monthly payout

Match the scheme to the goal, not to the headline rate

If you need the money to grow untouched for a very long time — retirement, or a corpus you have promised yourself not to raid — PPF is hard to beat, because the exemption on interest and maturity means the quoted rate is also the rate you keep. A taxable instrument paying a nominally higher rate can easily deliver less after tax. For someone in the 30% bracket, a taxable 7.5% is worth about 5.25% net; a tax-free 7.1% beats it outright.

If you have a daughter under 10, SSY generally carries the highest rate among these schemes and the same full tax exemption, with the trade-off being a very long lock-in tied to the child rather than to you. It is the right home for education and marriage money precisely because you cannot easily get at it. Compare the full rules on our Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana page.

If you are retired and need income rather than growth, SCSS pays interest quarterly and is designed for exactly that. The interest is taxable, but a senior citizen can often absorb it within the higher exemption limits and the deduction available on interest income. Post Office MIS does a similar job monthly at a lower rate.

If you want a five-year 80C parking spot, NSC is simpler than it looks. Interest accrues annually and is deemed reinvested, so each year's accrued interest itself qualifies for 80C — which is why NSC quietly suits people who have already exhausted 80C with insurance and want to keep the deduction rolling.

The arithmetic people get wrong

Two mistakes cost far more than picking the second-best scheme.

The PPF deposit date. PPF interest is calculated on the lowest balance between the 5th and the last day of each month. Deposit on the 4th and that month earns interest; deposit on the 6th and it does not. Over fifteen years, always depositing before the 5th of April rather than late in the financial year makes a difference measured in tens of thousands of rupees on the same contributions. If you invest annually, do it in the first week of April.

Treating the ₹1.5 lakh limit as per-account. The PPF ceiling of ₹1.5 lakh per financial year is per individual, across all accounts including one you operate for a minor. Deposits beyond the limit earn no interest and are simply returned. Similarly SSY is capped at ₹1.5 lakh a year, and both compete for the same 80C headroom.

Questions worth answering before you deposit

Q: If the rate is revised, does my existing deposit change?

It depends on the scheme. PPF and SSY are floating — a revision applies to your whole balance from that quarter. NSC and SCSS lock the rate that applied on the date of purchase for the entire term, which is why the timing of an NSC or SCSS deposit matters and the timing of a PPF deposit does not, rate-wise.

Q: I forgot to deposit in PPF this year. Is the account dead?

No, it is dormant, and reviving it is routine. Pay the small default fee for each missed year along with the minimum subscription for those years at your bank or post office. Do revive it rather than opening a new account — the fifteen-year clock has already been running and you do not want to restart it.

Q: Can an NRI keep these accounts?

NRIs cannot open these accounts. An account opened while resident may generally be continued to maturity under the applicable rules but not extended beyond it, and the tax treatment in your country of residence is a separate question. Confirm your specific position at the bank or post office holding the account before you assume anything.

For the scheme-by-scheme rules, deposit limits and forms, see PPF, SCSS and the rest of our finance and savings schemes.