Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana HDFC

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) or a Sukanya Samriddhi account is a scheme launched by the honorable Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi in 2015. This scheme is a part of the “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” campaign. The sole motive of this savings scheme is to encourage parents to start saving money, so that their daughters can get the necessary education or even fund their marriage when the time comes. The scheme can be opened for any girl child who is less than 10 years old. However, there is a restriction when it comes to the number of accounts that a family can open under this scheme. You can open one account per girl child, but to a maximum of two accounts per household. The parents of a girl or their legal guardian can open a Sukanya Samriddhi account and start saving money.

You must deposit a minimum of INR 1,000 for a fiscal year under this scheme and go all the way up to INR 1,50,000. The account and its benefits are available until the child turns 21 years or gets married after reaching the legal marriage age of 18 years. The earlier occurrence is taken into consideration.

The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana(SSY) resembles the Public Provident Fund (PPF) in more ways than one. For starters, the interest rates for the SSY account is decided by the government and the banks must adhere to it. The SSY also offers quite a few tax benefits.

Features of HDFC Bank Sukanya Samriddhi Account

The scheme intends to provide financial assistance to girls when they need it for their education or even marriage. Here are some of the salient features of the HDFC Bank Sukanya Samriddhi account.

The current interest rate offering of the account stands at an impressive 8.4%.
The amount that you deposit towards this account is completely exempted under Section 80C.
You must deposit at least INR 1,000 per financial year to keep the account active.
The maximum amount that you can deposit in the account is INR 1,50,000 or the upper limit of Section 80C per financial year.
Should you fail to deposit the minimum amount of INR 1,000 per year, a penalty of INR 50 will be charged on your account.
You can continue making deposits in the account until the completion of 15 years, from the account opening date.
The account will mature on the completion of 21 years of the girl child.
However, if the girl gets married before the completion of the tenure, the account will not be operational post her marriage.
As is the case with all other accounts, account holders will get a bank passbook.
If the account beneficiary gets married before the maturity of the policy, the account will be closed.
On the completion of 18 years of the account holder, they can make a partial withdrawal to meet educational requirements or for marriage.

Benefits of Sukanya Samriddhi Account with HDFC Bank

Apart from the above features, the Sukanya Samriddhi offers a lot of other benefits as well for their subscribers. Here are some of the prominent ones-

Interest Rates

The Sukanya Samriddhi offers one of the highest interest rates among various saving schemes in the country. HDFC bank Sukanya Samriddhi offers very high interest rates of 8.4%. The interest rate is compounded yearly, thus providing you with healthy returns over a longer period of time. In fact, the interest rates are higher than standard government-based yields over a 10 year duration.

Interest Continuation

On maturity of the account, you can still earn interests as long as you do not withdraw the amount. The interest rates mentioned above would still continue.

Tax Exemption

The Sukanya Samriddhi account offers tax exemption benefits, which is one of its pillars of success. Any amount that you deposit under this scheme is tax deductible under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. Thus, your deposits are exempt from any taxes up to a maximum of INR 1,50,000 per financial year. On maturity, the interests that you earn are also non-taxable.

Maturity Proceeds

The intent of the scheme is to help girls with their education or marriage. Parents cannot withdraw the amount for their personal use. The maturity benefits and the amount in the account can only be accessed by the child.

Flexibility

There is a lot of flexibility when it comes to keeping the account active for this scheme. You can open your HDFC Sukanya Samriddhi by paying just Rs. 100 and not Rs. 1000 as it was earlier. And there are no restrictions when it comes to regular deposits post that, as long as the deposits are in the multiples of Rs. 100. Once your daughter reaches the age of 10 years, she can start operating the account.

Lock-In Period

This is one of the most impressive features of the Sukanya Samriddhi account. The account has a default lock-in period till your daughter turns 21. The only other condition where the account would no longer be held is if the girl gets married after attaining the legal age of 18 years. The account allows for one premature withdrawal when the girl child reaches 18 years for further education. However, it is limited to 50% of the total amount.

Documents Required for opening a Sukanya Samriddhi Account with HDFC Bank

Here are all the documents that you would need to open a Sukanya Samriddhi account.

A duly filed account opening form.
Proof of identity of the parent or the guardian of the account beneficiary.
Valid address proof of the parent or the guardian of the account beneficiary such as Ration Card, Passport, Electricity Bill, etc.
The birth certificate of the account beneficiary. You can usually get the birth certificate from the hospital where your daughter was born in or a government approved domicile or even the school where she was enrolled.

How to Open Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account with HDFC Bank?

To open your Sukanya Samriddhi account with HDFC Bank, you would need to take the following steps.

Fill the account opening form for Sukanya Samriddhi.
Provide the bank with all the documents mentioned in the above section.
Pay the initial deposit for opening the account. You can start with a minimum of Rs. 100 or a maximum of Rs. 1,50,000.
You can then opt for a standing instruction to deduct the amount on a regular basis or opt for automatic credit from your net banking option.

Who Can Open an SSY Account with HDFC Bank?

There aren’t a lot of limitations that you have to be aware of before opening a Sukanya Samriddhi account for your daughter. The eligibility for opening the account is as follows.

You can open the account as long as your daughter is less than 10 years old.
The account can be opened by the parents of a girl or their legal guardian.
As per the rules of the scheme, there can only be one account per the name of a beneficiary of the scheme.
Parents or legal guardians can only open two accounts for girl children as per the scheme policies.
The girl should be a resident of India.

Important Details of the SSY Account with HDFC Bank

The Sukanya Samriddhi account is a smart and sensible way to invest in the future of your daughter. Here are the important details of the SSY account with HDFC Bank.

You can open an SSY account with a minimum deposit of Rs. 100, which was revised from an earlier amount of Rs. 1,000.
The maximum amount that you can deposit in a financial year is Rs. 1,50,000.
The account would mature on the completion of 21 years.
On reaching the age of 18 years, girls have a provision to withdraw as much as 50% for educational purposes. You would have to submit the admission proof for availing this.
You have to make deposits towards the scheme for a minimum of 15 years from the day of opening the account. The deposit can be anywhere between Rs. 100 to Rs. 1,50,000.
In the event that you fail to make the mandatory Rs. 100 payments, the account would be tagged as default. In such cases, you will have to pay a penalty of Rs. 50 to reactive the account.
The account would be terminated if the girl marries after reaching the legal age of 18 years.
After paying the maintenance for a minimum of 5 years, if it is found that paying the maintenance is a burden on the girl child either due to medical emergency or death of the parents, the amount can be withdrawn.
The deposits under the scheme are exempted from taxes under Section 80C and the interests that you earn on them are also tax-free.

Step by Step Withdrawal Facility with HDFC Bank

The account would mature on the completion of 21 years. On maturity, HDFC bank would provide the deposits along with the proceeds once she provides the following documents to the bank.

Withdrawal application for SSY bank.
Age proof.
Identity proof.
Proof of residency and citizenship.

FAQs on HDFC Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

What is the age limit for opening an SSY account?

An SSY account can be opened by parents or legal guardians of a girl anytime before she reaches 10 years. The account will continue to be active till she turns 21 or gets married, whichever is earlier, provided she has reached the legal marriage age. An account under the scheme cannot be opened after the girl is 10 years old.

Is the interest earned on SSY taxable?

Any interest that you earn on the scheme account is non-taxable. In fact, there are more tax benefits than this. The principal amount invested every year for the account is also exempt from taxes under Section 80C which adds to the benefit for the scheme.

Is it possible to deposit money online to SSY account?

Yes. You can transfer money from your savings account to SSY account without any hassles. Also, you can create a standing instruction with your bank to transfer amount on a regular basis.

What is the interest rate of a Sukanya Samriddhi account?

The interest rates associated with Sukanya Samriddhi keeps might change from time to time. Currently, the interest rate on the account is 8.4% per annum. The government announces the interest rate every quarter along with other schemes like PPF.

When can I withdraw money from Sukanya Samriddhi account?

On the completion of 21 years, the account matures and thus, you can withdraw the amount. The account stands terminated on getting married after the legal age of 18 years. Alternatively, you can withdraw up to 50% of the total account amount on completion of 18 years to pay for your education.

Is there an upper limit to the amount that I can deposit?

Yes. You can deposit up to Rs. 1,50,000 for a financial year and not a rupee more. The minimum amount that you must deposit for a year is Rs. 100.

Where can I open a Sukanya Samriddhi account?

You can reach out to any HDFC bank branch to open the account or visit your nearest post office.

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