Saturday 19 January 2019

Sukanya Samriddhi Account V/s Public Provident Fund: the difference

When it comes to ensuring your family’s financial security, often people get confused as to whether they should save their hard-earned money in a bank or invest it in a scheme. In recent times, two of the most popular financial tools in India are the Sukanya Samriddhi scheme and the Public Provident Fund.

Here is a look at the schemes, their benefits and how they differ from each other so that you can make the most of your wealth!

What is Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme?

The Sukanya Samriddhi account scheme is a Govt. aided scheme that aims towards securing the girl child’s future by providing education to them.

You can open a Sukanya Samriddhi account in one of the authorized commercial bank branches or in a post office. People, who belong to the lower-income wage group are also eligible to open an account for the Sukanya Samriddhi scheme, as this is a government-backed scheme and will ensure many benefits for the girl child.

What is Public Provident Fund Scheme?

The Ministry of Finance introduced the Public Provident Fund (PPF) Scheme in 1968. The primary objective of the scheme was to encourage people to save more and build a retirement corpus for the golden years.

How does Sukanya Samriddhi account scheme differ from the PPF scheme?

Both the schemes differ from one another on the following grounds-

• You can expand the tenure for any number of times, each time for a 5-year long period, upon the maturity of your PPF account. You must do so within a year from the maturity date.
For Sukanya Samriddhi account, an expansion of 14 years is allowed, but only up to 7 years.

• You can deposit money in the PPF account via cheque, cash, demand draft (DD), and online funds transfer.
Sukanya Samriddhi account only accepts deposits in the form of cash, cheque and DD.

• The account in Sukanya Samriddhi scheme can be opened only under the name of the girl child. No one other than the girl child is eligible for any of the benefits of the scheme.
Any Indian resident of age 18 years and above can open a PPF account. There is no restriction on the upper age limit for opening this type of an account.

• Sukanya Samriddhi account scheme allows you to withdraw money partially. You can withdraw a small amount only after you turn 18 years old and use it to fund your education. You can withdraw 50% of your funds from the account after turning 21 years.
If you have a PPF account, you will be allowed to withdraw your fund completely on the maturity.

• The Sukanya Samriddhi scheme offers an interest rate of 8.6%, which is the highest when compared to other small savings schemes.
The interest rate earned on funds in PPF account as on October 2018 is 8.0% per annum.

Both PPF and Sukanya Smariddhi Scheme have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, it is best to analyze the intricate details of both the plans before putting your money in any of the schemes.

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