Where do unclaimed PPF, NSC, SCSS funds go? Know how they can be tracked

Some of the most popular fixed-income instruments on the market are the Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC), and Senior Citizens' Saving Scheme (SCSS). These are government-sponsored small savings plans, a few of which provide tax breaks.

Investors have so many options for investing that they sometimes overlook these accounts with long maturity tenors. Government regulations require relevant investment authorities to notify investors of their accounts, but many account holders become untraceable over time as they change addresses, telephone numbers, or both and fail to notify investment authorities.

After a certain period of time, these unclaimed funds are transferred to other government funds. Account holders and policyholders can withdraw funds from these funds directly.

Unclaimed money from bank fixed deposits, for example, is transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF), unclaimed money from insurance, PPF, and EPF is transferred to the Senior Citizen's Welfare Fund (SCWF), and unclaimed money from mutual funds and stocks is transferred to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) (IEPF).

Find out where your unclaimed funds are:

The Senior Citizen’s Welfare Fund (SCWF)

Unclaimed deposits from PPF, post office savings accounts, EPF, RD accounts, and other similar accounts are held by the SCW fund. This Welfare Fund was established in 2015 to use unclaimed funds that were sitting idle for a productive purpose and the general welfare of society. Before transferring unclaimed funds, insurers usually contact the account holders/nominees following the maturity of an investment or the end of the tenure.

In the case of insurance money, for example, if it remains unclaimed after 8 years from the due date, it is transferred to the senior citizen welfare fund. Beneficiaries will be able to claim the money from their policies for up to 25 years after it is transferred to the Senior Citizen's Welfare Fund (SCWF).

However, if no claims are made within 25 years of the transfer to the SCW fund, such unclaimed amounts are transferred to the Central Government in accordance with Section 126 of the Finance Act, 2015. The Senior Citizens Welfare Fund, according to the Ministry of Finance, is used to benefit senior citizens.

How can I find information about unclaimed small savings accounts on the India Post website?

Go to the India Post website and select 'Banking and Remittance.' Select Post Office Savings Scheme on this page. Then choose Senior Citizen Welfare Fund.

You will see a list of accounts such as Savings Bank, PPF, Kisan Vikas Patra, and so on, and when you click on the account type, you will see state-specific account information.

How does the welfare fund function?

According to the rules of the welfare fund, the institution (in this case, the post office) must identify unclaimed funds and deposit them to the Fund on or before March 1st of each year.

According to the rule, "The transfers by the Institutions shall be made on a net basis, namely, the unclaimed deposits minus the claims accepted in accordance with the law for the time being in force, of the accounts whose balances have already been transferred to the fund.”