SSY vs PPF for a daughter’s future?
SSY pays more than PPF most years and only for a girl child. “We always did PPF” is inertia, not a plan.
Skip to the calculator below this article
Named for her, not for a generic 80C
SSY pays more than PPF most years and only for a girl child. Using PPF anyway because “we always did PPF” is inertia, not a plan.
Sukanya Samriddhi is for a girl child (age rules apply), with a higher notified rate than PPF in most seasons, tax-free like PPF, and withdrawal gated around her adulthood/marriage rules.
If you skip this step, the rest is theatre.
Dehradun kitchens already know this. Relatives on the group chat are slower.
You can hate the answer and still need it on paper.
PPF can be in your name, more flexible after year 7 partials, and not tied to her. That flexibility is why some parents still mix both.
If those two numbers already make you uncomfortable, believe them.
A dated goal in a small-cap fund is how holidays become credit-card stories.
SSY’s extra rate is the scheme doing its job.
Rate gap is visible. Rules are stricter
If she is eligible and you have 80C room, fill SSY before extra PPF. The rate gap is the point of the scheme.
If 80C is already full with EPF, you can still fund SSY—know it may not give extra 80C juice, yet the rate may still beat taxable mess.
Open a calculator and type the ugly version first—₹1.5 lakh going to dad’s PPF because the SSY form felt like extra homework, while giving up ~1% a year for 15 years.
Round, optimistic inputs are how people sleep until the third bounce.
Education at 18 may need more than SSY. Pair a parent SIP in the parent’s folio so you are not surprised by private-college sticky notes.
SSY deposits generally run for 15 years from opening; the account can live longer till she meets the closure conditions. Read the current circular before you promise a cousin.
If you cannot explain the result to a slightly impatient parent, you do not understand it yet.
Why families still skip SSY
Opening SSY and then treating it like an ATM for school picnics. Partial rules are not a debit card.
Skipping SSY because “we will gift her a plot.” Plots and SSY are not substitutes.
Putting two daughters’ futures in one PPF in dad’s name and hoping fairness appears at 23.
If a caption fits in eight words, it skipped the messy month.
Your cousin’s 2017 small-cap luck is not a policy.
A plan that never gets a yearly refresh is a framed poster.
People in Dehradun skip that and then call the failed plan “the market.” It was the skipping.
SSY floor plus a parent SIP is allowed.
A clean split with SIPs later
Eligible girl, 80C room: SSY up to ₹1.5 lakh before extra PPF.
Want parent-controlled liquidity too: SSY + a smaller PPF in adult name.
Need growth beyond 8%: SSY floor plus a parent equity SIP tagged to education.
Buffer first, ugly debt second, this goal third. Reverse it and the goal becomes a loan.
Investing while revolving a 36% card is theatre.
A thinner SIP or a slower prepay still exists. A six-month disappear does not.
A smaller SIP or a shorter loan goal beats a heroic screenshot you cancel in six weeks.
₹1.5 lakh SSY vs PPF for 15 deposit years
₹1.5 lakh a year for 15 years at ~8.2% SSY sketches near ₹41 lakh. Same rupees in PPF ~7.1% sketch near ₹38 lakh. Gap ~₹3 lakh plus SSY’s purpose-built lock.
₹50,000 SSY + ₹1 lakh PPF because you want a side door is a valid mix. All PPF and zero SSY for an eligible child is mostly habit.
A Dehradun private-college sticker of ₹25 lakh still wants a SIP. SSY is a pillar, not the whole building.
If someone sells the same figure as a guarantee, walk.
If the plan only works at 18% returns or a 6% home loan forever, it is not a plan.
The bear version is the one you should be able to explain at dinner.
Keep a 10% haircut for tax, fees, or the extra month the builder delays.
Eligible and still 100% PPF? Fix the form.
Open SSY first if she is eligible
If she qualifies, SSY is the first form this month. PPF can share what is left.
Inertia is a silent 1% TER on her name.
If you only work this in January, you are doing astrology.
Calendar reminder beats a quote about discipline.
When someone in Dehradun asks, share the widget with your numbers stripped. Let them type theirs.
And please date your spreadsheet. Future you will not remember which fantasy version this was.
Estimates only. Lender, CA, or advisor before you move real money.
Change the numbers in the calculator above and see the result on this page.
Estimates only—not personalised financial, tax, or investment advice. Markets, loan rates, and tax rules change. Confirm numbers with your lender, CA, or advisor before acting.