Sukanya Samriddhi account (SSA) - Premature closure of account

Premature closure of account 

Though the duration of the Sukanya Samriddhi account is 21 years from the date of the opening of the account but request for premature closure can be made after 5 years from the date of opening of account in following scenarios :

1. Untimely death of the account holder – In the unfortunate event of death of the beneficiary account holder (girl child), the account shall be closed immediately on production of death certificate issued by the competent authority. In that case the balance at the credit of the account shall be paid along with the accrued interest till the date of death shall be paid to the guardian.

2. Account holder become a non-citizen or NRI- If, after the opening of an Account, the Account holder becomes a non-citizen or non-resident of India, intimation to this effect shall be given by the guardian or the Account holder to the post office or the Bank concerned, as the case may be, within a period of one month from the date of such status of the Account holder’s citizenship or resident status. No interest shall be deemed to accrue to the Account from the change of such status and the Account shall be deemed to be closed prematurely from that date and credit in the account will be returned to along with interest due, to the Account Holder.

3. Extreme compassionate grounds– Where the post office or the Bank concerned is satisfied, in cases of extreme compassionate grounds such as medical support in life-threatening diseases of the Account holder or death of the guardian, that the operation or continuation of the Account is causing undue hardship to the Account holder, it may, after complete documentation, by order and for reasons to be recorded in writing, allow premature closure of the Account.

4. For Other Reasons– Premature closure of an Account may be permitted, anytime after the opening of an Account, for any reason other than provided under this sub-rule, and in which case the whole deposit shall be eligible only for the interest rate prescribed for the Post Office Savings Bank.

Pre-Mature Withdrawal for Education

(1) Withdrawal of upto a maximum of fifty per cent of the balance in the Account at the end of the financial year preceding the year of application for withdrawal, shall be allowed for the purpose of higher education of the Account holder but such withdrawal shall not be allowed unless the Account holder attains the age of eighteen years or has passed tenth standard, whichever is earlier.

(2) The application for withdrawal shall be accompanied by a documentary proof in the form of a confirmed offer of admission of the Account holder in an educational institution or a fee-slip from such institution clarifying such financial requirement.

(3) The withdrawal may be made as one lump sum or in instalments, not exceeding one per year, for a maximum of five years, subject to the limit specified in point (1) above.

(4) withdrawal shall be restricted to the actual demand 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.