What happens to PPF account after Maturity?

Many people are not aware about the exact details related to the maturity of the PPF account. They believe that after 15 years they get all the money deposited along with the interest. This is indeed true but there are various other possibilities or options for the investor. For instance, he can extend the maturity for five years. It does not end here; one can do this for as many times he wants. It means that you can continue the PPF account for lifetime. This post provides detailed information about PPF account maturity in India and how to maximize the returns from PPF.

Case 1 : You want to Close the account after 15 years
This is the simplest case and this situation is quite common too. All of us require big amounts of money at certain stages of our life and PPF can certainly contribute to it. You get all the money accumulated in the PPF account at time of maturity and your PPF account is closed. You can open a new PPF account at that time too.

Case 2: Extending PPF account
If you have opened PPF account at an early age (20-30), your account will mature earlier too (35-45). In that case, you can extend the PPF account for 5 years. You will have to make the minimum deposit of Rs 500 per year in this case. An important thing to remember here is that you continue the account with regular contribution; you will be able to withdraw only 60% of the PPF amount in the five year block. This means that if you had 20 lakhs at the end of 15 years in your PPF account, you will be able to withdraw a total of 12 lakhs only if you choose to continue it with regular contribution.

Case3: Extending the PPF account but not making any Contribution
If you want to extend the PPF account but do not want to make any contribution, you need to leave it as it is. This option gets automatically activated, if you do not do anything till one year after the maturity. Once it is activated, you will not be able to make any further contribution in the account. However, the benefit is that you can withdraw as much as you want. You will keep getting interest on the remaining balance in the PPF account.

How to Withdraw Money from the PPF account ?
If you want to withdraw money from your PPF account after maturity, visit the branch where you have opened the account. Thereafter, you will be provided a form by the bank officer. If you have PPF account and savings account in the same SBI branch, you can get the money credited on the same day. You can opt for cheque if you do not have savings bank in the same SBI bank.