Post Office Savings Schemes: Can your account be frozen for not linking it with Aadhaar card

Post Office Savings Schemes offer low-risk investment options to individuals. These schemes are backed by the government and provide competitive interest rates to account holders. It is extremely easy to open a post office account. But, before you open an account, there are some factors you need to keep in mind. In order to avail the benefits of the savings schemes, one must link it to their Aadhaar number. The deadline to link Aadhaar with a small savings account is September 30 this year.

If individuals fail to adhere to the deadline, their account will become inoperative.

What happens if you fail to link Post Office Savings Scheme account with Aadhaar card

If you are unable to link your post office savings schemes or any small savings schemes like the Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) with your Aadhaar card, your account will be frozen. You will be unable to avail any benefit of the investment options.

Rules on linking Aadhaar with small savings schemes

In a recent notification, the government announced that it is compulsory for new investors to link their Aadhaar and PAN with their small savings scheme accounts. The same is valid for existing investors. “If a depositor has already opened an account and has not submitted his Aadhaar number to the Accounts Office, he shall do so within a period of six months with effect from the 1st day of April 2023,” the notice read. This means that the deadline is September 30.

Linking PAN with the Post Office Small Savings account has been made compulsory if the balance in the account exceeds Rs 50,000, or the sum of all transfers and balances from the account in a month is over Rs 10,000. If the aggregate of all credits in the account for a financial year is over Rs 1 lakh, PAN linkage is mandatory.

How to link Aadhaar with post office savings schemes?

There are several ways to link Aadhaar with post office savings schemes. One can visit the nearest post office or bank branch with their Aadhaar card and password to start the process. Apart from that, you can log in to your bank account and input your Aadhaar number to get the savings scheme linked.

What are the consequences if your post office savings scheme account is frozen?

In the event that your post office savings account is frozen, you will not be able to make deposits. There will be no facility to get the maturity benefits of the investment. No interest will be credited to your account.