National Savings Pakistan: Rates & Comparison (2026)

Pakistan National Savings offers several products with similar-sounding names but very different jobs. A three-month certificate is not a substitute for a ten-year income product, and a headline rate is not the return you keep after tax or an early exit.

This guide compares the major conventional and Rafa Islamic options so you can shortlist by time horizon, cash-flow needs and eligibility rather than simply choosing the largest percentage.

Rate check: The rates below were verified from the official National Savings website on 16 August 2026. The site's latest notice says they apply from 18 July 2026. Rates can change; confirm the applicable rate and product rules before investing.

National Savings profit rates in Pakistan — quick table

These are quoted annual rates, not a promise that every investor receives the percentage multiplied by the principal in cash each year. Timing, compounding, tax, product rules and encashment date matter.

The fastest way to choose a scheme

Start with the date you will need the money.

• Within one year: compare the three-, six- and twelve-month Short Term Savings Certificates with a bank deposit or money market fund.
• Around three years: compare Special Savings Certificates or Account and the three-year Sarwa Islamic Term Account.
• Monthly household income: compare Regular Income Certificates; eligible people should separately examine Behbood, Pensioners Benefit and Shuhada Family Welfare products.
• Long-term accumulation: Defence Savings Certificates may fit the time horizon, but check the value available on every possible early-exit date.
• Shariah preference: use the separately governed Rafa National Savings window—SISA or SITA—rather than assuming a conventional product becomes Shariah-compliant because the issuer is the government.

The best scheme is the one whose withdrawal rules match your real life. An extra percentage point is little comfort if an emergency forces you to exit before profit becomes payable.

What each major product actually does

Savings Account

The National Savings Account has a minimum deposit of PKR 100 and no stated maximum. Deposits can be withdrawn after the deposit date, although the official page limits withdrawals to three times a week.

Profit is credited on 30 June. Its calculation uses monthly minimum balances under the product rules, so the headline annual rate should not be applied blindly to every rupee that briefly passed through the account.

This is the most flexible conventional National Savings option in the table, but it is not identical to a transactional bank current account. Compare access methods, branch convenience and the balance-calculation rule before using it for emergency cash.

Short Term Savings Certificates (STSC)

STSCs come in three-, six- and one-year maturities. The minimum investment is PKR 10,000, with no stated maximum. They can be encashed after one month, but profit becomes due only when the chosen maturity is completed.

That condition is crucial. If you may need the money in seven weeks, a three-month certificate can produce no profit despite displaying an attractive annual rate.

Special Savings Certificates and Special Savings Account

Both are three-year products for the general public, with profit paid every six months. The first five six-month periods currently use one rate and the sixth uses a higher rate. A simple average of the two published percentages will not necessarily reproduce the cash flows on your exact investment.

The minimum is PKR 500 and deposits or certificates are in prescribed multiples. Early encashment is possible, but no profit is payable before the first six months are completed. The account and certificate formats also differ operationally, so confirm transfer, pledge and withdrawal features you need.

Regular Income Certificates (RIC)

RICs are designed for monthly income over five years. The minimum investment is PKR 50,000. They may be encashed early, but the official product page lists service charges of 2%, 1.5%, 1% and 0.5% of face value when encashed before completing one, two, three and four years respectively. No service charge applies after four years.

This makes RIC easier to understand as an income product than as a short parking place. A person who expects to withdraw within a year should calculate the service charge before comparing it with a shorter product.

Defence Savings Certificates (DSC)

DSCs have a ten-year maturity, start from PKR 500 and have no stated maximum investment. They are available to Pakistani and overseas Pakistani investors under the published eligibility rules.

They can be encashed earlier, but no profit is payable before one complete year. Long-term advertised returns can also be misunderstood: ask for the official encashment table showing the value on the date you might actually sell, not only the maturity illustration.

Behbood Savings Certificates (BSC)

Behbood is a ten-year, monthly-profit product for eligible widows, senior citizens and persons with disabilities, including specified arrangements for special minors through guardians. It is not open to every investor.

The official page currently states a PKR 5,000 minimum, a PKR 7.5 million individual limit and PKR 15 million for qualifying joint investors. Early encashment service charges decline over the first four years. The page also states that profit is not subject to withholding tax and the investment is exempt from Zakat collection.

Eligibility documents and limits deserve confirmation at National Savings because a general rate table does not establish that a particular applicant qualifies.

Pensioners Benefit Account (PBA)

PBA pays monthly profit over a ten-year term to eligible pensioners from specified public, armed-forces, semi-government and autonomous bodies, and certain eligible family members after a pensioner's death.

The detailed page currently states a PKR 10,000 minimum and PKR 7.5 million maximum, although an old summary box on the same page shows PKR 5 million. This inconsistency is exactly why investors should obtain written confirmation of the current limit before depositing.

Shuhada Family Welfare Account (SFWA)

SFWA is a targeted monthly-income scheme for eligible families of Shuhada. The 12.96% rate does not make it a general-public option. Confirm the definition of an eligible beneficiary, documentation, investment cap and early-withdrawal rules with an authorised National Savings Centre.

Rafa National Savings: SISA and SITA

Rafa National Savings is the dedicated Islamic window of CDNS. Its published products are:

• Sarwa Islamic Savings Account (SISA): minimum PKR 100, no stated maximum, profit based on daily closing balance and credited monthly.
• Sarwa Islamic Term Account (SITA): one-, three- and five-year terms, with premature withdrawal permitted under its rules.

National Savings states that Rafa works under a Shariah board and a separate governance framework. Read the applicable product rules and latest declared rates; do not compare an Islamic product's expected or declared profit with a conventional fixed-rate product using the label alone — Islamic Mutual Funds vs Conventional Funds in Pakistan covers the same structural distinction in the mutual-fund context.

How much profit will PKR 1 million generate?

For a simple first-year estimate on a product quoted at 11.52%:

Gross annual profit = PKR 1,000,000 × 11.52%
                    = PKR 115,200

If the product is subject to 15% withholding for an ATL taxpayer:

Indicative withholding = PKR 115,200 × 15%
                       = PKR 17,280

Indicative cash after withholding = PKR 97,920

At 30% withholding for a non-ATL person, the indicative cash after withholding would be PKR 80,640.

This is a teaching example, not a certificate quote. A real result can differ because of payment frequency, reinvestment, purchase date, product-specific exemption, rounding, early encashment and any change in law.

Tax on National Savings profit

The official pages for general products such as Savings Account, Special Savings, RIC, DSC and STSC currently state:

• 15% withholding for a person appearing on the Active Taxpayers List (ATL).
• 30% withholding for a non-ATL person.

Behbood's official page states that withholding tax is not collected on its profit. Other targeted products may have their own treatment.

Withholding is not always the end of a person's tax calculation. Tax character, credits, return filing and exemptions depend on current law and individual circumstances. Use the latest FBR rules or a qualified tax adviser before treating a deduction as your final liability.

Compare after-tax return, not headline return

Use this framework:

After-withholding cash return
= gross profit − withholding − service/exit charges − other costs

Also compare effective annual return when cash flows occur monthly or six-monthly. A monthly payment spent by the investor does not compound; a payment reinvested elsewhere may earn a different rate.

Zakat treatment is product-specific

National Savings pages do not show one universal Zakat rule. Examples include:

• Savings Account and DSC: Zakat applicable under the rules.
• Special Savings Account: collected at source under the published withdrawal rule.
• RIC and STSC: official pages state exemption from deduction/collection.
• Behbood: official page states exemption from Zakat collection.

An exemption from automatic collection at source does not by itself settle a person's religious obligation. It may mean the investor must calculate and pay Zakat separately. Read How to Calculate Zakat on Gold, Cash, Stocks and Mutual Funds in Pakistan and consult a qualified scholar for your circumstances.

Safety: what "government-backed" does and does not solve

National Savings products are issued through the Government of Pakistan's National Savings system. This addresses a different risk from a private investment platform, but it does not remove every financial risk:

• Inflation risk: a positive nominal return can still lose purchasing power.
• Reinvestment risk: the rate available when a short product matures may be lower.
• Liquidity friction: branch procedures or early-exit rules can delay or reduce access.
• Rate misunderstanding: an annualised rate is not necessarily the cash received over a shorter holding period.
• Concentration risk: putting all family savings into one maturity date creates inflexibility.

Keep emergency money accessible and match longer products to known future dates — see Why You Should Build an Emergency Fund Before You Start Investing if that reserve isn't in place yet.

National Savings vs bank deposit vs money market fund

There is no automatic winner. Compare the exact period, after-tax outcome and access you need. For short-term cash, see Savings Account vs Money Market Fund in Pakistan.

How to invest without choosing the wrong maturity

1. Write the amount and earliest possible need date.
2. Keep a separate emergency reserve.
3. Check eligibility; do not plan around a targeted scheme until approved.
4. Download or request the latest official rate and encashment tables.
5. Ask for the amount payable on three dates: planned maturity, one likely early-exit date and an emergency-exit date.
6. Confirm ATL status and product-specific tax and Zakat treatment.
7. Verify the authorised channel. Use the official National Savings website or centre—not a payment instruction received through social media.
8. Keep the application, receipt, nomination and certificate/account records safely.

One useful approach is a maturity ladder. Instead of locking PKR 1.2 million into one date, divide it across several maturity dates. The investor then gets periodic access without breaking the whole investment. Whether this improves return depends on future rates; its main benefit is flexibility.

Common mistakes

Choosing the highest rate without checking eligibility

Behbood, PBA and SFWA are targeted social-security products. Their higher published rates cannot be treated as offers to the general public.

Comparing annual rates over unequal periods

A three-month annualised rate and a ten-year rate answer different questions. Compare rupees receivable on your intended date.

Ignoring early encashment

"Encashable" does not mean "full advertised profit is available." Some products pay no profit before a minimum period; others apply a service charge.

Treating withholding as the only cost

Inflation, lost compounding and access costs matter. For monthly-income products, decide whether distributions will be spent or reinvested — Understanding Risk Tolerance Before You Invest can help frame that decision alongside the rate table.

Relying on an old screenshot

National Savings rates change. Link to the official page and display a verification date whenever AsaasIQ publishes a rate table.

Frequently asked questions

Which National Savings scheme has the highest rate in Pakistan?

As verified on 16 August 2026, Behbood Savings Certificates, Pensioners Benefit Account and Shuhada Family Welfare Account show 12.96%, but each has restricted eligibility. Among general products, compare rate, term and exit rules rather than ranking by percentage alone.

Are National Savings profit rates fixed?

The rate applicable to an investment follows the scheme's rules and issue/purchase terms. Rates offered for new investment can change. Confirm how a change affects an existing versus new investment before purchase.

Can overseas Pakistanis invest?

Several products explicitly allow overseas Pakistanis with NICOP or POC documentation. Eligibility and operating procedures vary by scheme.

Is National Savings tax-free?

Not generally. Official general-product pages currently state 15% withholding for ATL taxpayers and 30% for non-ATL persons. Behbood's page states an exemption. Verify the exact scheme and current law.

Are National Savings products Shariah-compliant?

CDNS offers dedicated Shariah-compliant products through Rafa National Savings: SISA and SITA. Conventional National Savings products should not be relabelled as Islamic.

Can I withdraw before maturity?

Many schemes allow encashment or withdrawal, but profit loss, waiting periods or service charges may apply. Read the exact product page and ask for an encashment value.

Bottom line

National Savings is not one investment. It is a menu of short-, medium- and long-term products, plus targeted income schemes and a separate Islamic window.

Choose in this order: eligibility, need date, payment pattern, early-exit value, after-tax return. Only then compare the headline rate.