Our Correspondent
Kohima, March 5 (EMN): The Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM), a pension scheme for unorganised workers was launched on Tuesday at the Secretariat’s conference hall in Kohima.
The scheme is being introduced under Section 3 (1) (c) of the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act of 2008, which mandates the central government to formulate and notify suitable welfare scheme for unorganised workers on matters related to old age protection.
The branch manager of Life Insurance Corporation, Kohima, Shelphomran Khaling said that the scheme will be administered by the Ministry of Labour and Employment in partnership with LIC, as pension fund manager and provider. The central government would deposit matching share of 50%, every month to the workers’ account, he added.
According to the scheme, it will provide fixed pension of INR 3000 after workers in the unorganised sector attain the age of 60 years on the condition that the workers contribute “an affordable” amount monthly during their working years.
The contribution chart starts 18 years of age (INR 55 per month) and it goes up to age 40 (INR 200 per month).
The chief secretary of Nagaland Tali Temjen Toy informed that the scheme was announced in the recent union budget. He was of the view that Nagas do not take advantage of central schemes; and urged the people to enrol for this scheme.
During the launching programme, the chief secretary also distributed cards to the selected beneficiaries.
Project Officer T Chubayanger said that the Labour department will be the nodal officer of the scheme. As much as 260 beneficiaries have registered, he informed.
Spouse will get 50%
At the death of the beneficiary (after age of 60 years), the spouse shall be entitled to 50% of the pension amount as family pension. If the beneficiary has given regular contribution and died due to any cause, or before the age of 60, his/her spouse will be entitled to join and continue the scheme subsequently by payment of regular contribution. After the death of subscribers as well as his/her spouse, the entire corpus will be credited back to the fund, according to the PM-SYM scheme.
Who can apply?
- Unorganised workers such as daily wage earners, handloom workers, street vendors, domestic workers, agricultural workers, construction workers, maids, tailors, small shop owners, and similar occupations
- Entry age between 18 to 40 years
- Monthly income of INR 15,000 or less
Relevant documents
- Aadhaar card
- Saving bank account or Jan Dhan account number with IFSC
Enrolment process
- To visit nearest common service centres (CSCs), along with relevant documents for the enrolment of the beneficiary on the system.
- Village-level entrepreneur (VLE) at CSCs will key-in Aadhaar number for verification with UIDAI database.
- Self-certification for eligibility conditions will be done
- System will auto-calculate monthly contribution payable according to age of the subscriber.
