New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a proposal for giving a monthly pension of Rs 10,000 to senior citizens. There is, however, a catch. It will be available to only those who invest in the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandan Yojana (PMVVY).
To raise the pension level, the Cabinet has doubled the investment one can make in the Yojana from Rs 7.5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh and extended the time limit for subscribing to it from May 4 to March 31, 2020.
Already, 2.23 lakh senior citizens have benefited from the scheme; 3.11 lakh others are getting benefit of the previous scheme – the Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana of 2014. The PMVVY is being implemented through the Life Insurance Corporation of India to provide social security during old age and protect persons aged 60 years and above against a future fall in their interest income due to uncertain market conditions.
The scheme provides an assured pension based on a guaranteed rate of return of 8% per annum for ten years, with an option to opt for pension on a monthly / quarterly / half yearly and annual basis. The differential return, i.e. the difference between the return generated by the LIC and the assured return of 8% per annum, would be borne by the Centre as subsidy on an annual basis.
