FAQ Sukanya Samriddhi Account - Faq's

Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA) is a Government-backed small deposit savings scheme for the benefit of a girl child.

An account can be opened by the Guardian by visiting any SBI branch.

The account may be opened by one of the Guardians in the name of a girl child, who has not attained the age of ten years as on the date of opening of the account. Every account holder shall have a single account under this Scheme.

The application Form-1 for opening an account shall be accompanied by birth certificate of the girl child in whose name the account is to be opened, along with required documents (Aadhaar and PAN) relating to identity and residence proof of the Guardian.

Birth certificate issued by the municipal authority, or any office authorized to issue birth and death certificate by the Registrar of Births and Deaths, or the Indian Consulate as defined in clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955).

Aadhaar of girl child is not required for opening of Sukanya Samriddhi Account.

Guardian in relation to a Minor means-

• Either of the parents.
• Where neither parent is alive nor the only living parent is incapable of acting as such, a person entitled under the law for the time being in force to have the care of the property of a Minor or a person of unsound mind, as the case may be.
• Legal Guardian appointed by a court.

Yes, SS Account can be opened with Aadhaar as primary identity. If Aadhaar number has not been assigned to the Guardian, proof of Aadhaar enrolment number can be provided to open the account. But customer has to submit Aadhaar within six months from account opening date for linking. If Aadhaar has not submitted within six months from account opening date, account shall cease to be operational till the time he submits the Aadhaar.

Yes, SS Account can be opened with PAN/Form-60. If Guardian has not submitted PAN at the time of account opening, PAN has to be submitted within a period of two months from the date of happening of any of the following events, whichever is earliest,

• The balance at any point of time in the account exceeds Rs fifty thousand or
• The aggregate of all credits in the account in any financial year exceeds Rs one lakh
• The aggregate of all withdrawals and transfers in a month from the account exceed Rs Ten thousand

and in the event of failure of submitting PAN within a specified period of 2 months the account shall cease to be operational till the time customer submits the PAN.

Family means a unit consisting of a person and his spouse (both or either of whom are alive or deceased) and their children, adopted or otherwise.

• An account under this Scheme may be opened for a maximum of two girl children in one family.
• Additionally, more than two accounts may be opened in a family if such children are born in the first or in the second order of birth or in both, on submission of an affidavit by the Guardian supported with birth certificates of the twins/triplets regarding the birth of such multiple girl children in the first two orders of birth in a family.
• However, the above proviso shall not apply to girl child of the second order of birth, if the first order of birth in the family results in two or more surviving girl children.

Registration of nomination is mandatory at the time of opening of SS Account. An account opened on behalf of a Minor, the nomination shall be made by the Guardian, who may nominate any individual, including himself in this regard.

Joint account shall not be opened under this scheme.

• Account shall be opened with a minimum of initial deposit of two hundred and fifty rupees (Rs.250/-).
• A deposit which shall not be less than two hundred and fifty rupees and not more than one lakh fifty thousand rupees (1,50,000/-) in multiple of fifty rupees (50/-) may be made in an account in a financial year till the completion of a period of fifteen years from the date of opening of the account.

There is no limit on number of installments to deposit during one financial year.

The deposit in excess of one lakh fifty thousand rupees in any financial year, if accepted due to any accounting error, shall not be eligible for any interest and be returned immediately to the depositor.

An account in which the account holder, having deposited Rs.250/- in the initial year, fails to deposit the minimum amount in the following years, shall be treated as discontinued or default.

An account which is treated as “discontinued or default”, may be regularized before completion of a period of fifteen years from the date of opening of account on payment of a penalty of fifty rupees for each year of default along with the minimum annual deposit in respect of the defaulted years.

Interest shall be credited to the account at the end of each financial year on 31st of March irrespective of the change of the account office due to transfer of the account during the financial year.

The rate of interest as applicable from time to time shall be eligible for a calendar month on the lowest balance at the credit of an account between the close of the fifth day and the end of the month. So ideally, an individual should try to deposit the sum of money before the 5th of every month.

• The account shall be operated by the Guardian till the account holder attains the age of eighteen years.
• The account shall be operated by the account holder herself after attaining age of eighteen years by submitting necessary documents.

• In the event of death of the account holder, the account will be closed immediately on the production of a death certificate issued by the competent authority.
• The balance in the account will be paid, along with the interest till the date of death shall be paid to the Guardian.
• Interest for the period between the date of death of the account holder and date of closure of the account shall be paid at the rate applicable on Post Office Savings Account for the balance held in the account.
• On medical ground of life-threatening disease of the account holder or death of the Guardian, after complete documentation for such closure, allow premature closure of the account. Outstanding balance in the account with interest due as applicable to the Scheme shall be paid to the account holder or Guardian.

No. SS Account cannot be closed in any circumstances before the completion of 5 years from the date of opening of the account.

• Premature withdrawal subject to the condition that the account holder for the purpose of higher education, withdrawal of up to 50 per cent of the amount in the account at the end of preceding financial year of application for withdrawal is allowed.
• Such withdrawal shall be allowed after the account holder attains the age of eighteen years or has passed tenth standard, whichever is earlier.
• The amount of withdrawal shall be restricted to the actual requirement on account of fee and other charges required at the time of admission as shown in the offer of admission or the relevant fee-slip issued by the educational institution.

• The account shall mature on completion of a period of twenty-one years from the date of its opening.
• The closure of the account may also be permitted before completion of twenty-one years if the account holder on an application makes a request for such closure for the reason of intended marriage of the account holder on furnishing of a declaration duly signed on non-judicial stamp paper attested by the notary supported with proof of age confirming that the applicant will not be less than eighteen years of age on the date of marriage.
• No such closure shall be allowed before one month from the date of the intended marriage or after three months from the date of marriage.

An account which has matured but not closed, the eligible balance in the account shall continue to earn interest at the rate applicable to the Post Office Savings Account, till the closure of the account.

In the event of the death of the Minor, the eligible balance shall be paid to the nominee, provided that in case of accounts opened before the 1st April, 2018, wherein no nomination was permissible, the eligible balance shall be paid to the Guardian.

In the event of death of the Guardian, the succeeding Guardian shall be eligible to operate the account of the Minor.

Yes, income tax rebate up to ₹ 1,50,000 under section 80C.

No loan or investment against SSA can be granted under this scheme.

Where the Central Government is satisfied that the operation of any of the provisions of this Scheme causes undue hardship to the account holder, it may, by order and for reasons to be recorded in writing, relax the requirement of that provision or provisions in respect of such account holder, in a manner not inconsistent with the provisions of the Act.

Form-16.The branch to give duly filled Form-16 to the transferee office, in case account opening forms are not traceable. The transferor branch shall verify all the information appearing in account opening form/Form-16.

Yes. Change of name or surname may be allowed by the branch by following the procedure laid down by RBI for change of name or surname in Bank Savings account.

Yes. Non-resident Indians shall be eligible to be nominated as nominee subject to the condition that payment to such nominee/s shall be on non-repatriation basis.

Yes. In the event of death of guardian or on order from any Court of Law in any case of change in the guardian ,the succeeding guardian shall be eligible to operate the account of the minor or the person of unsound mind as the case may be.

If a depositor dies and there is no nomination in force at the time of his death, and the probate of his will or letters of administration of estate or a succession certificate granted under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925), or legal heir certificate issued by the revenue authority not below the rank of Tahsildar having jurisdiction, is not produced within six months from the date of death of the depositor to the Branch ,where the account stands, then,-

if the eligible amount in the account does not exceed Rupees five lakh, the branch, for reasons to be recorded in writing, may pay the same to any person appearing to the branch as the rightful claimant and to the satisfaction of the branch ,to be entitled to receive the amount or to administer the estate of the deceased, on an application in Form- 11 accompanied by the following documents; namely:-

• Death certificate of the account holder;
• Passbook or deposit receipt or statement of account in original;
• Affidavit in Form-13;
• Letter of disclaimer in Form-14;
• Bond of Indemnity in Form-15; and
• Identity proof of the legal heir;

Provided further that, in case of any dispute raised before the Branch and before the payment of claim, the amount shall be paid by the Branch to the claimant on submission of a succession certificate granted under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925) issued by the Court only along with the following documents; namely:-

• Claim form;
• Pass book or deposit receipt or statement of account in original;
• Death certificate of the account holder; and
• Identity proof of the legal heir.

If the eligible amount in a deceased account is above Rupees five lakh, the amount shall be paid by the Branch to the claimant on submission of the probate of his will or letters of administration of estate or a succession certificate granted under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925) issued by the Court, or legal heir certificate issued by the revenue authority not below the rank of Tahsildar having jurisdiction along with the following documents; namely:-

• Claim form;
• Passbook or deposit receipt or statement of account in original;
• Death certificate of the account holder; and
• Identity proof of the legal heir;

Provided further that, in case of any dispute raised before the Branch and before the payment of claim, the amount shall be paid by the Branch to the claimant on submission of a succession certificate granted under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925) issued by the court only along with the following documents; namely:-

• Claim form;
• Passbook or deposit receipt or statement of account in original;
• Death certificate of the account holder; and
• Identity proof of the legal heir.

Yes, these are responsibilities of the branch maintaining the account.