Post Office FD & RD Investment Plans: These 5 schemes offer up to 7.5% guaranteed return; compare investment limits, other key aspects here

Did you know that India Post - which offers a host of government-backed small savings schemes at its designated branches - offers five types of fixed and recurring deposit investment schemes? For the quarter ending June 30, the Post Office Time Deposit and Post Office Recurring Deposit schemes pay interest at annual interest rates in the range of 6.7-7.5 per cent, compounded quarterly, according to the India Post portal, indiapost.gov.in. Currently, India Post offers four maturity options for fixed deposits, ranging from one year to five years, and a fixed, five-year (60-month) lock-in period for recurring deposits. 

The government reviews the interest rates applicable to small savings schemes every quarter. 

First things first, here's a quick comparison of the five schemes in terms of interest rate:

Here's a comparison of all five fixed income schemes in detail: 

Post Office Time Deposit Account (TD)

Time Deposits (TDs), similar to Fixed Deposits (FDs), are available in four tenures:

1.    1-Year Account

• Interest rate: 6.9% per annum
• Lock-in period: 1 year
• Eligibility: Any individual can open this account 
• Minimum Deposit: Rs 1,000 and in multiples of 100; no maximum limit 
• Interest calculation: Quarterly, but payable annually

2.    2-Year Account

• Interest rate: 7.0% per annum
• Lock-in period: 2 years
• Eligibility: Available to individuals
• Minimum deposit: Rs 1,000 and in multiples of 100. No maximum limit.
• Interest calculation: Quarterly, but payable annually

3.    3-Year Account

• Interest rate: 7.1% per annum
• Lock-in period: 3 years
• Eligibility: Open to individuals
• Investment limits: Rs 1,000 and in multiples of 100. No maximum limit.
• Interest calculation: Quarterly, but payable annually
   

4.    5-Year Account

• Interest rate: 7.5% per annum
• Lock-in period: 5 years
• Eligibility: Any individual can open this account.
• Investment limits: Rs 1,000 and in multiples of 100, No maximum limit.
• Interest calculation: Quarterly, but payable annually

5-Year Post Office Recurring Deposit Account (RD)

This scheme is designed for regular monthly savings with the following details:

• Interest rate: 6.7% per annum (compounded quarterly)
• Lock-in period: 5 years
• Eligibility: Open to all individuals
• Investment limit: Rs 100 per month or any amount in multiples of Rs 10; account can be opened by cash/cheque and in case of cheque the date of deposit will be the date of clearance of cheque; no upper investment limit