Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: How SSY account holders are impacted by interest rate change

Any change in the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) interest rate can affect the final amount the depositor may receive upon maturity or upon account closure.

As the Finance Ministry is expected to announce the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) interest rate for the October-December quarter of FY 2025-26 on September 30, 2025, here's a look at how a change in interest rate affects the SSY deposits of your girl child.

The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is a popular savings scheme for the girl child with a tenure of 21 years.

How does SSY interest rate work?

The Finance Ministry declares the SSY interest rate every quarter. The interest on SSY is compounded annually, which means that the accumulated interest gets added to the account balance at the end of every financial year.

As the SSY scheme has a lock-in of 21 years, any change in the interest rate during this period directly affects the maturity corpus.

The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) is a widely popular savings scheme for the girl child, backed by the Government of India. Designed to promote long-term financial planning for a girl’s education or marriage, the scheme offers a high interest rate (currently 8.2%), tax benefits under Section 80C, and guaranteed returns.

Impact of interest rate hike or cut

When the finance ministry increases the SSY interest rate, both existing and new investors benefit alike. The revised rate applies to all balances held in an SSY account, which means every rupee already deposited grows at the higher rate.

SSY calculator shows that if you started investing ₹1.5 lakh annually in the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) from the year 2021, when your daughter was 5 years old, and continued for the full 15-year contribution period, your total investment would amount to ₹22,50,000. At the current interest rate of 8.2% per annum, the scheme would generate an interest of approximately ₹46,77,578 over the full tenure.

The account matures in 2042, when your daughter turns 21. By then, the maturity value would be around ₹69,27,578, offering a substantial tax-free corpus to support higher education or marriage expenses.

The SSY calculator shows that for long-term investors, even a small increase of 0.5% can significantly boost the maturity value. However, a cut in the SSY interest rate can reduce the long-term maturity corpus.

What should investors do?

Ahead of the announcement, SSY account holders are expecting a hike in the interest rate from the current 8.2%. However, nothing can be confirmed at this time. The government may or may not increase the PPF interest rate.