Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) Calculator

What is Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana?

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) is a small savings scheme run by the Government of India for the benefit of the girl child. It was launched as part of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative, and you can open an account at any post office or most bank branches. The idea is simple, you put away a bit every year while your daughter is young and let compounding do the heavy lifting for her education and marriage.

How the 15-year and 21-year rule works

This is the part most parents get confused about. You deposit money into the account only for the first 15 years. After that you stop paying, but the account does not close. It keeps running and earning interest for another 6 years, maturing 21 years from the date it was opened. So the final maturity amount is not just your deposits, a large part of it is interest that builds up in those last few years when you are not paying anything.

Deposit limits and interest

• Minimum deposit is ₹250 in a financial year, so the account stays affordable for everyone.
• Maximum deposit is ₹1.5 lakh in a financial year.
• The current interest rate is 8.2% per annum, compounded annually (the government revises it every quarter).
• Deposits of up to ₹1.5 lakh a year get you a deduction under Section 80C.
• Returns are EEE, meaning the interest and the final maturity amount are both completely tax-free.

A quick worked example

Say you deposit ₹1,50,000 every year at 8.2%. Over the first 15 years you put in ₹22.5 lakh of your own money. Because the balance keeps compounding all the way to the 21st year, the maturity amount grows to roughly ₹69 to ₹72 lakh depending on the exact convention used, of which the bulk is tax-free interest. If you can only manage ₹50,000 a year, the maturity comes to about one third of that, close to ₹23 lakh. Use the calculator above to try your own numbers and see how a small change in the yearly deposit changes the final corpus.

Partial withdrawal and early closure

You are not fully locked in till 21 years. Once the girl turns 18, you can withdraw up to 50% of the balance at the end of the previous financial year, usually to pay for her higher education. The account can also be closed early if she gets married after turning 18. This flexibility makes SSY a practical goal-based plan rather than a rigid deposit.