Senior citizen had ₹46 lakh in joint SCSS accounts with wife. What can he do after she passed away?

Senior citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) allows to open an account in individual capacity or jointly with spouse. However, it can be confusing to deal with the account if one of the spouses passes away.

Recently, 77-year-old Satyendra Kumar Srivastava, unfortunately, lost his wife on March 27, 2025, with whom he had two joint SCSS accounts with a combined deposit of around ₹46 lakh.

In one SCSS account, Srivastava is the first holder while his wife was the second holder. Total deposit in this account is ₹24.9 lakh.

In the second SCSS account, his wife was the primary holder and he is the second holder. This account has a deposit of ₹21 lakh.

Now that his wife has unfortunately passed away, Srivastava is confused about multiple issues related to his SCSS account.

In an email dated April 2, 2025, Srivastava shared those queries. We have answered them based on the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme Rules 2019.

Yes, you should inform the bank and submit the death certificate.

SCSS allows joint accounts only with one’s spouse. If one of the spouses passes away, the surviving spouse can continue the account until maturity. However, the surviving spouse must not hold another SCSS account in such a situation.

“Where both the spouses have opened separate account or accounts under this Scheme and either of the spouses dies during the currency of such account or accounts, then such account or accounts standing in the name of the deceased account holder shall not be continued,” SCSS rules say.

In your case, you already have another SCSS account. This means you will have to liquidate the account in which your wife was the primary account holder.

Therefore, you may ask the bank to liquidate your wife's account. In this case, you will get full interest at 8.2% till the date of death i.e. March 27, 2025. After that, and till the date of withdrawal, the bank will pay interest at 4%.

The maximum deposit one can make under SCSS is ₹30 lakh. This means the sum of all your SCSS deposits should not be more than ₹30 lakh.

Since you have only ₹24.9 lakh in your own SCSS account, you can invest ₹5.1 lakh more under this scheme.

The maximum deposit that you can make under SCSS is only ₹30 lakh. You may invest the balance ₹15.90 (received from your wife’s account) in other small savings schemes like NSC, Post Office Fixed Deposit, and Post Office Monthly Income Scheme for guaranteed returns. You may also invest in fixed deposit with large and safe banks or consult a professional financial advisor for proper guidance.

You can nominate your son. But he will be a nominee for your account. He won't become the second holder as a joint account under SCSS can be opened with spouse only.