Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana 2026: Eligibility, Deposit Rules, Maturity, and How to Open an Account

If you're saving for a daughter under 10, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is still the highest-paying government-backed instrument available to you — 8.2% per annum, a full 1.1 percentage points above PPF. But the scheme's rules around maturity, withdrawal, and what happens if you miss a deposit trip up more parents than the interest rate does.

Current Interest Rate: 8.2% for October-December 2026

The Ministry of Finance's September 30, 2026 notification kept SSY at 8.2% per annum, compounded annually, for the tenth consecutive quarter — the rate has been flat since it was last revised upward from 8.0% in January 2024. Small savings rates are reviewed every quarter, so this isn't guaranteed to stay unchanged, but SSY has now gone two and a half years without a cut, longer than most other post office schemes in the same period.

Who Can Open an Account, and How Many

An SSY account can be opened by a parent or legal guardian in the name of a girl child any time before her 10th birthday. Both the guardian and the child must be resident Indians. Once the girl turns 18, she can operate the account herself with her own KYC, though the guardian remains the original account opener on record.

• A family can open a maximum of two SSY accounts — one per girl child, for up to two girls
• A third account is permitted only if the second birth (or the first birth itself) results in twins or triplets — it is not allowed simply because a third daughter is born after two single births
• The account cannot be opened for a girl who has already turned 10, with no exceptions

Deposit Rules: Minimum, Maximum, and What Happens If You Miss a Year

You can deposit anywhere from ₹250 to ₹1.5 lakh in a financial year, in any number of instalments, for 15 years from the date the account was opened — after which no further deposits are required or accepted. If you don't deposit the minimum ₹250 in a given year, the account doesn't close; it becomes a Default Account, which continues earning the applicable SSY interest rate on the existing balance. You can regularise a default account at any point within the 15-year deposit window by paying ₹50 as a penalty for each defaulted year, plus the minimum ₹250 due for those years.

When the Account Actually Matures (It's Not Year 15)

This is the detail most parents get wrong: SSY matures 21 years from the date the account was opened, not after the 15-year deposit period ends. Between year 15 and year 21, you make no further deposits, but the accumulated balance continues earning the prevailing SSY interest rate, compounded annually, for the remaining years. The account can also be closed earlier than 21 years if the girl marries after turning 18, provided the closure application is filed no more than one month before the marriage date or within three months after it, along with proof of age and a marriage certificate or affidavit.

Partial Withdrawal for Higher Education

Once the girl turns 18, or completes Class 10, whichever comes first, up to 50% of the account balance as it stood at the end of the previous financial year can be withdrawn for higher education or marriage expenses. This can be taken as a lump sum or across up to 5 instalments over as many years, and the withdrawal amount is capped at the actual documented expense, not the full 50% automatically.

Premature Closure: When It's Allowed

• Death of the account holder (the girl child), with the balance paid out to the guardian or legal heir
• A life-threatening medical condition of the account holder, supported by a medical certificate
• Death of the guardian operating the account, on submission of the required documentation
• A change in the account holder's residency status to NRI or a change in citizenship

Outside of these compassionate-ground closures, an SSY account cannot be closed early simply because the family needs the funds for another purpose — this rigidity is the trade-off for a rate that consistently beats every comparable small savings scheme.

How to Open an Account

SSY accounts can be opened at any post office or at most major public and private sector bank branches authorised to offer the scheme. You'll need the guardian's identity and address proof, the girl's birth certificate, passport-size photographs of both, and a completed Form-1 along with the first deposit. Unlike a bank FD or a mutual fund SIP, an SSY account cannot be opened entirely online — a physical branch visit is required for document verification.

If you're weighing SSY against other post office options for the same money, our comparisons of post office schemes against bank FDs, NSC vs PPF vs ELSS, and the tax trap in Kisan Vikas Patra cover the rest of the small savings lineup SSY is usually shortlisted against. If it's a personal (not daughter-specific) scheme for a woman investor you're after, note that the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate closed to new deposits in April 2025 — SSY and PPF are the two schemes that actually remain open now.