Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government launched the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) in 2015. It was launched under the flagship "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" campaign of the government to encourage parents to start saving for their girl child from an early age. As compared to many other popular savings options such as Public Provident Fund, SSY is known to offer higher returns.
If you are planning to open SSY account for your daughter, here are five facts about the scheme that most people don't know about-
1. Maximum number of SSY Account
A girl child can only have a single Sukanya Samriddhi account on her name. A parent or legal guardian is only allowed to open a maximum of two SSY accounts for two girl children. However, if twins were born during the birth of the first or the second daughter, a total of three accounts can be opened.
Similarly, if triplets were born the parent or legal guardian of the triplets can open up to three SSY accounts.
2. Default Account
As per the Sukanya Yojana details, your account can be considered default if you fail to deposit the minimum deposit amount of Rs. 250 in a year. For activating a default account, you'll be required to pay a penalty of Rs. 50 for every year you fail to deposit along with the minimum deposit amount for all those years.
If a default account is not activated within 15 years from the date of account opening, the deposit made before the default will only earn the standard savings account interest rate.
3. Interest after maturity
While people know that the maximum maturity period of Sukanya Samriddhi scheme is 21 years, most do not know what happens if the amount is not withdrawn from the SSY account after 21 years.
All the deposits you make in the SSY account for up to 14 years continue to earn interest until this maturity period of 21 years. However, once this maturity is over, the account will no longer earn interest. The deposit amount along with the accumulated interest will be kept idle with the government.
4. Account transfer
You can open an SSY account from a post office or branch office of a bank registered under this scheme. However, is it possible to transfer the Sukanya Samriddhi account scheme between banks or from the post office to the bank? Yes, the transfer is possible.
Get in touch with the post office or bank branch where you currently have the SSY account and submit the transfer request. This will allow you to transfer your account to the bank of your choice.
5. Premature withdrawal
Once the girl child is 18 years old, she can make an early withdrawal of up to 50% of the balance in the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Scheme account before the maximum maturity tenure of 21 years.
However, this amount can only be withdrawn for her higher studies or marriage.
Building a brighter future for your daughter
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is one of the most affordable and reliable schemes that you can invest for your daughter. With a minimum deposit of just Rs. 250 a year and returns as high as 8.5%, this government-backed scheme is a must for every parent who has a girl child.
Get in touch with an authorised bank to know more about the scheme and open an SSY account online.