Features, Advantages, Eligibility of the Post Office Monthly Income Scheme

The Post Office offers POMIS among a host of banking products and services, under the purview of the Finance Ministry. Hence, it is highly reliable. It is a low-risk MIS and generates a steady income. 

You can invest up to Rs.4.5 lakh individually or Rs. 9 lakh jointly, and the investment period is 5 years. Capital protection is its primary objective. For the quarter ending 30 September 2021, the interest rate is 6.6% per annum, payable monthly.

Features & Benefits of Post Office Monthly Income Scheme

Capital protection: Your money is safe until maturity as this is a government-backed scheme. 

Tenure: The lock-in period for Post Office MIS is 5 years. You can withdraw the invested amount when the scheme matures or reinvest it. 

Low-risk investment: As a fixed income scheme, the money you invested is not subject to market risks and is quite safe. 

Affordable deposit amount: You can start with a nominal initial investment of Rs.1,000. As per your affordability, you can invest in multiples of this amount. 

Guaranteed returns: You earn income in the form of interest every month. The returns are not inflation-beating but are higher compared to other fixed-income investments like FD. 

Tax-efficiency: Your investment is not covered under Section 80C; TDS is not applicable either. 

Payout: You will receive the payout after one month from making the first investment, and not the beginning of every month. 

Multiple account ownership: You can open more than one account in your name. But the total deposit amount cannot exceed Rs.4.5 lakh in all of them together. 

Joint account: You can open a joint account with 2 or 3 people. In this case, an aggregate sum of up to Rs.9 lakh can be invested in this account.

Fund movement: The investor can move the funds to a recurring deposit (RD) account, which is a feature Post Office has added recently. 

Nominee: The investor can nominate a beneficiary (a family member) so that they can claim the benefits and corpus if the investor passes away during the account’s term. 

Ease of money/interest transaction: You may collect the monthly interest directly from the post office or get it transferred automatically to your savings account. Reinvesting the interest in a SIP is also a lucrative option. 

Reinvestment: You may reinvest the corpus post maturity in the same scheme for another block of 5 years to continue earning benefits.

Eligibility Criteria To Open A POMIS Account

• Only a resident Indian can open a POMIS account. 
• NRIs cannot enjoy the benefits of this scheme. 
• Any adult can open an account. 
• You can open an account on the behalf of a minor who is aged 10 years and above. They can avail the fund when they become 18 years old. 
• A minor, after attaining majority, has to apply for conversion of the account in his name.

How To Open A POMIS Account

Opening a POMIS account is not as tedious as you think. Instead of imagining long queues and even longer paperwork, please take a look at the step-by-step procedure.

• Open a post office savings account, if you haven’t already.
• Collect a POMIS application form from your Post Office.
• Submit the duly filled form along with a photocopy of your ID and residential proofs and 2 passport-size photos at the Post Office. Do carry the originals for verification.
• Get the signatures of your witness or nominee(s) on the form.
• Make the initial deposit via cash or cheque. In the case of a post-dated cheque, the date on the cheque will be the account opening date.
• Once the processing is done, the executive at the Post Office will provide you with the details of your newly opened account.

Conclusion

POMIS has the flexibility and reliability that appeal to risk-averse investors, albeit with limited tax benefits. If you think you belong to that category, now is the time to consider starting one.

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