Search around for "CIT interest rate Nepal" and you'll find a wide spread of numbers — some blogs quote 6.5%, others claim 9–12% across CIT's schemes. Very few link back to the Citizen Investment Trust's own published rate card, and the numbers people are repeating are often outdated. Citizen Investment Trust (CIT, or Nagarik Lagani Kosh) runs about twenty different schemes and loan products, each with its own rate, and those rates get revised periodically as market interest rates move.
This guide lays out CIT's current official interest rates, scheme by scheme, straight from CIT's own published rate table, so you can see exactly what your specific CIT account is actually earning.
Quick Answer
As published on CIT's official interest rate page, the flagship Employees Saving Growth Retirement Fund (ESGRF) deposit rate is currently 3.75%, the individual Citizen Unit Scheme pays 5.0%, and the Citizen Pension Scheme pays 4.5%. Loan rates against these schemes range from roughly 4.25% to 7.25% depending on the product. These rates are noticeably lower than the "9–12%" figures commonly repeated online, reflecting Nepal's broader falling-interest-rate environment over the past couple of years.
CIT Retirement and Savings Scheme Rates
These are the schemes most individuals and salaried employees interact with directly.
| Scheme | Rate (p.a.) |
|---|---|
| Employees Saving Growth Retirement Fund (ESGRF) — deposit | 3.75% |
| Citizen Unit Scheme — individual | 5.0% |
| Citizen Unit Scheme — corporate | 3.5% |
| Investor / Gratuity Fund | 2.75% |
| Citizen Pension Scheme | 4.5% |
CIT Loan Rates (Against Scheme Balances)
CIT allows members to borrow against their accumulated balance in several schemes. These loan rates are naturally higher than the deposit rates on the same scheme, since they represent the cost of borrowing rather than the return on saving.
| Loan type | Rate (p.a.) |
|---|---|
| ESGRF loan (up to 90% of balance) | 5.25% |
| Investor/Gratuity Fund loan (up to 80% of balance) | 4.25% |
| Home loan | 7.0% |
| Easy/simple loan | 7.25% |
| Easy loan — gratuity | 7.25% |
| Education loan | 7.0% |
| Vehicle loan | 7.25% |
CIT Insurance Fund Rates by Sector
CIT also manages insurance-linked funds for several government and public-service categories, each earning its own rate.
| Insurance fund | Rate (p.a.) |
|---|---|
| Civil service | 2.75% |
| Teachers | 2.75% |
| Nepal Police | 2.75% |
| Armed Police Force | 2.75% |
| Nepal Army | 2.75% |
| NARC (Nepal Agricultural Research Council) | 3.75% |
| NARC insurance loan (up to 80%) | 5.25% |
| National Investigation Department | 2.75% |
Estimate Your CIT Savings Growth
Pick your scheme and enter your details to get a simplified growth estimate. This assumes a constant monthly contribution and constant rate, which won't match reality exactly since CIT revises rates periodically and may add year-end bonuses in some years.
CIT Growth Estimator
Why CIT Rates Differ So Much Between Schemes
The spread between a 2.75% insurance fund and a 5.0% Citizen Unit Scheme isn't arbitrary. Each scheme has a different investment mandate, liquidity requirement, and risk profile. Pension and insurance-linked funds tend to prioritize capital preservation and predictable payout obligations, which pushes their declared rates lower and steadier. Unit schemes and retirement funds have more room to pursue growth-oriented investments, which is part of why their rates can run higher, though also more variable across fiscal years.
Common Mistakes When Reading CIT Rates
- Assuming there's one flat "CIT rate." As the tables above show, the rate depends entirely on which specific scheme your money sits in.
- Confusing a loan rate with a deposit rate. The ESGRF loan rate (5.25%) is not what your ESGRF deposit itself earns (3.75%) — loan rates are what you'd pay to borrow against your own balance.
- Relying on outdated third-party figures. Numbers like "9–12%" circulating online typically reflect a much earlier interest rate environment in Nepal and don't match CIT's current published table.
- Mixing up individual and corporate Citizen Unit Scheme rates. These two have different declared rates (5.0% vs 3.5%), so make sure you know which one applies to your account.
- Not rechecking after the fiscal year turns over. CIT, like EPF, revises its rates periodically, so a rate you saved last year may already be out of date.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to CIT's official interest rate page, the ESGRF deposit rate is currently 3.75% per annum, while an ESGRF loan (up to 90% of your balance) carries a 5.25% rate.
Many articles and calculators haven't been updated to reflect CIT's most recent rate revisions, and Nepal's broader interest rate environment has fallen noticeably over the past couple of years. Always check CIT's own published rate table for the current figure rather than relying on older secondary sources.
Based on CIT's current published table, the individual Citizen Unit Scheme has the highest listed deposit rate at 5.0%, followed by the Citizen Pension Scheme at 4.5%.
CIT has, in some past fiscal years, announced an additional bonus on top of the regular declared rate for certain schemes such as ESGRF, funded from the year's profit. Whether a bonus applies in any given year depends on the fund's performance and is not guaranteed.
CIT's rates are reviewed periodically, generally in connection with the fiscal year and Nepal's broader interest rate movements, similar to how EPF and commercial bank rates are revised. Check the official rate page for the latest confirmed figures before relying on any specific number.
The Bottom Line
CIT isn't a single savings product with one number attached to it — it's a family of about twenty schemes and loan products, each with its own current rate, and those rates have come down meaningfully from the higher figures still floating around older blog posts. If you're deciding how CIT fits into your broader retirement plan alongside EPF or SSF, our CIT vs EPF comparison guide and SSF vs PF vs CIT overview walk through how these schemes work together.
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