PPF: Here are 5 lesser -known facts about the savings scheme supported by the government
The Indian government’s public provident fund (PPF) is one of the most popular savings offers supported by the government. It offers its customers a low-risk, high interest and tax-friendly savings option to park their money for long-term returns. People who want to invest their money in the long run without much intervention usually open a PPF account in search of low-risk, high-yields and low-tax investment alternatives. India’s finance ministry has launched the PPF account to encourage the citizens of the country to mobilize their savings parked in their bank accounts, with reasonable returns. According to official data, the interest rate on a PPF account is currently 7.1% and is compiled annually. However, as it is a savings scheme supported by the government, the interest rate has been evaluated and announced quarterly, and will not change in the middle of an ongoing quarter. Here are five lesser -known facts about PPF 1. Inclusion is technically not 15 years: The public provident fund (PPF) scheme has a minimum term of 15 years, which can be expanded later with a five -year margin with the decision of the account holder. A PPF account can be expanded to an indefinite period in five years until the customer wants to withdraw their balance. 2.. Premature withdrawal allowed after 7 years: During this 15 -year period, the closing period is not exactly for the entire term, as the funds will be eligible for partial withdrawal after the 7th year of the investment. Account holders will therefore be able to withdraw a percentage of their funds after seven years from the beginning of their PPF account. 3. You can take a loan against PPF: The account holder can use the PPF account to take a loan against the corpus, which is stored under the savings scheme. According to the official norms, the account holder can obtain a loan facility against the PPF Corpus if they want to withdraw their funds before completing six years of investment. However, if the account holder wants to borrow against their PPF funds, they will be eligible to adopt only a loan up to 25% of the account balance in their PPF savings for two years before the loan application. The repayment of the loan is at most 36 months. People who may need their funds for financial obligations usually take 25% of the balance against their total savings. 4. Unable to be attached in case of defaults: According to an order of the Gujarat High Court, the amount stored in the Public Provident Fund (PPF) cannot be attached to any type of debt or liability by the account holder. 5.. Can invest more than 1.5 lakh: According to the official rules of a PPF saving scheme, account holders can invest a maximum of £ 1.5 lakh per year in their accounts, which will be eligible for the prevailing interest rate. However, if the investor prefers to award more funds to their PPF accounts, they can do so, but the amount above the £ 1.5 lakh per year will earn no interest rate or receive any tax rebate benefits. People can invest a minimum of £ 500 a year, and a maximum of £ 1.5 lakh annually in parts or a lump sum, according to the official data. Disclaimer: This is an educational article and should not be considered an investment strategy. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making investment decisions.