Mahila Samman Saving Scheme Vs Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
There are a lot of post office saving schemes offered by post office in India to the people having variety of investment needs. This set of financial instruments encourages saving and provide financial security to the people of India.
As these Post Office schemes are backed by the government, they are safe and reliable investment avenues for the individuals. Post offices in India offer their services to the people through a vast network of over 1.55 lakh post offices and around 5.70 lakh employees.
Mahila Samman Savings Certificate (MSSC) is a special scheme designed to empower women and girls through better financial opportunities. The Indian government launched MSSC as part of Budget 2023. Its goal is to encourage women to save and invest. It is a safe option backed by the government. MSSC helps women and girls grow their wealth and become financially independent. It's a good choice for women to invest and earn smartly.
Any Indian woman, regardless of age, can open an MSSC account. Male guardians can open an account for a minor girl child. It's a great way to start your daughter's financial journey as it offers an attractive fixed interest rate of 7.5% per annum which means your money grows faster than in regular savings accounts. You can open an MSSC account at a post office or a nearby bank. Fill out an application form with your personal details and submit necessary KYC documents. One can invest maximum of up to Rs.2 lakhs. After attaining 18 years of age, the account comes under girl's ownership in whose name the account was opened.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) aims to secure the financial future of girl children in India. SSY was launched as part of the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' campaign. The campaign emphasizes saving girl child and educating her. Its mission is to address the declining child sex ratio and promote the welfare of girl children. Any resident Indian girl child below the age of 10 years can invest in SSY account.
It is one of the best ways for parents to create a corpus for their daughters' higher education and marriage expenses as the scheme offers an attractive yearly interest rate of 8.2%. This means your money grows faster than in regular savings accounts. An SSY account can easily be opened at any post office or authorized bank branch. Remember, a girl child can have only one SSY account. The account matures after 21 years from the date of investment.
Two important post office saving schemes offered by post office in India are Mahila Samman Saving Scheme (MSSC) and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY). Both offer investment benefits but they differ in objective of investment. Let us check out major differences between Post Office MSSC and Post Office SSY in order to make proper investment decision.
| Basis for Difference | Mahila Samman Saving Scheme (MSSC) | Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | MSSC is a government supported savings scheme which is designed exclusively for women | SSY is launched with an aim of helping parents build a fund for the betterment of girl child such as for her higher education and marriage expenses of their girl child |
| Interest Rate (p.a.) | 7.50% p.a. | 8.20% p.a. |
| Interest Compunding | Compounded quarterly | Compounded annually |
| Minimum Investment | Rs.1000, in multiples of 100 thereafter | Rs.250 a financial year |
| Maximum Investment | Rs. 2 lakhs | Rs 1,50,000 a financial year |
| Eligibility | Indian women and girl children, regardless of age | Legal guardian/ natural guardian can open it in the name of a girl child who is not more than 10 years of age |
| Lock-in Period | 2 Years | 21 Years |
| Who Should Invest | Females who want to earn more interest with safety | Guardian who wants to invest for girl's future and also to get tax rebate |
| Tax on Interest Earned | Taxable as per tax slab | Interest earned in the account is free from Income Tax under Section 10 of I.T.Act. |
| Tax Implication | Does not qualify for the 80C deductions. However no TDS will be made from the MSSC maturity proceeds | Qualifies for deduction under section 80C of Income Tax Act |
| Transferability | You cannot transfer a MSSC certificate to another person | You cannot transfer a SSY certificate to another person |
| Premature Withdrawal | Allows 40% withdrawal after 1 year | Allowed maximum of up to 50% of the account balance at the end of the preceding financial year after the account holders attain the age of 18 years. |
| Others |
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Features of MSSC: MSSC is launched by the government with an aim to empower women financially and to increase their participation in saving funds for their future. Apart from post offices, all public sector banks together with ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank Ltd and IDBI Bank have been authorised to operate the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, 2023.
Key Traits of SSY: Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana provides higher interest rate as compared to other scheme which offer financial security for the girl child. SSY scheme also provides "Triple exempt benefits" (EEE) i.e. no tax on the amount invested, no tax on interest earned and no tax on amount withdrawn. The deposits need to be made only for 15 years from the date of opening of the account. The SSY account will earn interest until maturity, even if no contributions are made into it after 15 years.
Post Office Investment Options
| Serial Number | Investment Option | Rate of Interest (p.a.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Post Office Savings Account | 4% payable annually |
| 2 | Post Office Recurring Deposit | 6.70% per annum compounded quarterly |
| 3 | Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (MIS) | 7.4% per annum payable monthly |
| 4 | Post Office Time Deposit (POTD) | 1yr:6.9%, 2yr:7.0%, 3yr:7.1% & 5yr:7.5% |
| 5 | Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) | 7.5% compounded annually |
| 6 | Public Provident Fund (PPF) | 7.10% compounded annually |
| 7 | Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) | 8.2% compounded annually |
| 8 | National Savings Certificate (NSC) | 7.70% compounded annually |
| 9 | Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) | 8.20% payable quarterly |
| 10 | Mahila Samman Savings Certificate (MSSC) | 7.50% compounded quarterly |