How to transition your initial Sukanya Samriddhi Account investment contribution to Rs 1 lakh? Options explained

New Delhi: The Sukanya Samriddhi scheme is a government-backed savings scheme for girl children. Parents can open an account in the name of their girl child at any post office or designated commercial bank branch. The account can be opened with a minimum deposit of Rs 250. Further deposits must be made in multiples of Rs 50 with at least Rs 250 deposited every financial year.

You can deposit a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh in the SSY account in a financial year. Any amount deposited above this limit will not earn interest and will be refunded. Deposits can be made for up to 15 years from the date the account is opened.

If you opened an SSY account when your daughter was young but have saved only a small amount, you can increase your savings by making additional deposits. You can grow your savings by changing how much you deposit, how often you deposit and when you make the deposits. The SSY interest rate is set by the government every quarter and is currently 8.2 percent per year.

Suppose you have deposited Rs 60,000 every year into your SSY account for four years and now want to increase your annual investment to Rs 1 lakh. You can do this by depositing more money into your existing account. The scheme allows you to invest up to rs 1.5 lakh in a financial year.

How to achieve Rs 1 lakh target: SSY Top-Up

If you already deposit Rs 60,000 every year, you only need to add another Rs 40,000 to your existing SSY account to reach your annual investment target of Rs 1 lakh. You can deposit the money through cash, cheque or online transfer using your bank or post office.

Sukanya Samriddhi A/c: No lock-in

There is no fixed lock-in period for increasing your contribution. The increased amount will follow the standard SSY rules and continue to earn interest at the current rate of 8.2 percent per year.

Sukanya Samriddhi A/c: Modify NACH limit

If you use NACH for automatic payment, you can increase your monthly payment limit. This will allow your investments to continue automatically without the need to make deposits manually every month.

Sukanya Samriddhi A/c: Calculate new amount

To reach Rs 1 lakh in a year, you need to deposit about Rs 8,333 per month (Rs 1,00,000 ÷ 12 months = Rs 8,333.33). If you use NACH, you can submit a mandate modification request to increase your monthly auto-debit amount to Rs 8,333.

Sukanya Samriddhi Top up: Calculation before and after top-up

Phase    Years    Annual Deposit    Total Added    Balance Status
Past Contributions    Years 1–4    Rs 60,000    Rs 2,40,000    Current balance is Rs 2.93 Lakh
New Contributions    Years 5–15    Rs 1,00,000    Rs 11,00,000    Balance grows to Rs 25.18 Lakh
Lock-in Period    Years 16–21    Rs 0 (No deposits)    Rs 0    Interest compounds to Rs 40.41 Lakh

Your Total Principal Investment: Rs 13.40 Lakh (Past Rs 2.4 Lakh + Future Rs 11 Lakh)

Estimated Interest Earned: Rs 27.01 Lakh

Total Tax-Free Maturity Value: Rs 40.41 Lakh

A guardian can open the SSY account for a girl child from birth until she turns 10 years old. The girl must be an Indian resident when the account is opened and remain a resident until the account matures or is closed. Only one SSY account can be opened for each girl child. Parents can open accounts for up to two girl children with exceptions for twins or triplets. The account can be transferred anywhere within India.