Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Nod sought for transfer of postal savings accounts

T. Ramakrishnan

Senior citizens find it difficult to reach faraway offices

CHENNAI: : The Postal Department has taken up with the Finance Ministry the issue of transfer of senior citizen savings accounts from one post office to another even when there is no change of residence of account holders.

At present, rules provide for the transfer of an account only when there is change of residence, after levying a fee.

But one development that has arisen over the past several months is that several senior citizens, especially from Tamil Nadu, have found that their accounts have been opened at post offices located far away from their residence. This is because at the time of opening the accounts, the senior citizens enlisted the services of agents, and they opened the accounts at post offices of their choice. Hence, the senior citizens approached the postal authorities to shift the accounts to the post offices near their residence, officials say.

Though there is an option for opening the accounts in specified nationalised banks, the scheme, when launched in August last, could be opened only in post offices. (Under the Senior Citizens' Savings Scheme, a deposit with a minimum of Rs. 1,000 and the maximum of Rs. 15 lakhs can be made by a senior citizen at any post office engaged in savings bank accounts or specified public sector banks, including State Bank of India. The maturity period is five years with an option to extend it by three more years. The rate of interest is nine per cent).

In response to the representations from several depositors, the Tamil Nadu Postal Circle wrote, on three occasions, to the head office in Delhi for taking up the matter with the Finance Ministry to amend the rule. In its recent communication a month ago, the State Circle argued that it should be allowed to accept the requests for the transfer. It has been informed that the matter had been referred to the Finance Ministry, the officials add.

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