Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NCS), and Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) are the few small savings investment plans that are backed by the Government. They are specially built for low-risk investors to earn a fixed income on their investments along with tax benefits.
Unclaimed Funds Of PPF, NSC, SCSS
Investors, sometimes, diminish the value of their own investments as they forget about their investment accounts in long-term maturity plans. According to Government rules and regulations, respective investment authorities are required to inform their investors about their accounts. But this process fails when some investors go untraceable. Usually, this happens because investors change their addresses and phone numbers without notifying the investment authorities.
So, after a period of time, these funds are transferred into an unclaimed fund account of the Government. If an investor remembers about his scheme, then he or she can reclaim their money directly from these Government funds.
For example, Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF) is an account in which unclaimed FD amounts are transferred. As for the unclaimed PPF, EPF and insurance money, they all are transferred to the Senior Citizens Welfare Fund (SCWF) after a specific period of time. Moreover, Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) is another account to which the unclaimed invested amounts of Mutual Funds and stocks are transferred.
Here’s Are The Details of Where Your Unclaimed PPF, NSC, SCSS Invested Money Goes:
For most unclaimed money the answer is Senior Citizen’s Welfare Fund (SCWF). SCWF is a Government backed fund where unclaimed PPF, post office savings accounts, EPF, RD accounts and the money of other similar accounts go. “This Welfare Fund was formed in 2015 to utilise unclaimed funds lying idle for a productive cause and in the general welfare of the society.”
As for general practice, when the maturity period of any unclaimed invested account is over, before transferring the unclaimed money, the respective investment authority contacts or notifies the investor.
“In case of insurance money, for instance, if the money stays unclaimed at the end of 10 years from the due date, it is then transferred to the senior citizen welfare fund. Beneficiaries will be able to claim the money under their policies up to 25 years from the date of transfer of the same to the Senior Citizen’s Welfare Fund (SCWF)”, mentioned timesnownews.
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There is one more condition when the invested amount remains unclaimed for over 25 years after being transferred to SCWF, then the money is transferred to the Central Government under Section 126 of the Finance Act, 2015, to be used for the welfare of senior citizens.
