Children up to age 12 won’t need to travel alone: DGCA

Picture courtesy: https://labour.gov.in/pm-sym

Union Minister Santosh Gangwar recently announced that Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan Yojana (PM-SYM) successfully enrolled more than 45 lakh people from the unorganised sector as beneficiaries. The scheme was launched with an aim to secure the future of wage workers in India. 

The PM-SYM scheme is essentially a pension scheme for those above 60 years of age. They are granted a pension amount of Rs 3,000/month if one enrolls in the scheme beforehand. The premium required to be paid to avail of the benefits of this scheme depends on your age at the time of enrollment. 

PM-SYM scheme

The future of wage workers in the unorganized sector is rather hazy with no guarantee of income in old age. The PM-SYM scheme is an effort to protect the life of these people by providing some financial relief in the form of pension that one can avail after turning 60 years old.

People between the age group of 18 to 40 years can join this scheme and the premium amount. The annual pension of Rs 36,000 will be given at the time of maturity with a pension of Rs 3,000 paid per month.

As many as 36 states and union territories are currently benefitting from the scheme. There are also 3.52 lakh common service centers for PM-SYM across these states. 

Premium calculation

Just like an insurance policy, this scheme works best when you enroll early. Starting early means you pay a minimum premium. For example, if you start depositing for the pension scheme at the age of 18, then you have to pay less premium, but if you start it at the age of 40, you automatically pay more. What does it mean?

If you enroll for the PM-SYM scheme at the age of 18, you will have to contribute Rs 55 per month. The premium in the plan ranges from Rs 55 to Rs 200 depending on your age. At 18, your annual contribution towards the pension scheme stands at Rs 660.

If one continues this scheme for 42 years, the total investment will come to Rs 27,720. At the same time, if you start investing at the age of 30 or 40, your monthly contribution will be Rs 100 and Rs 200, respectively.

Eligibility

Housekeepers, maids, drivers, plumbers, cobblers, tailors, rickshaw pullers, washermen, construction workers and agricultural laborers can take advantage of this. Your monthly income shouldn’t exceed Rs 15,000. 

Meanwhile, those belonging to the organised sector or members of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), National Pension System (NPS) or Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), or income taxpayers are not eligible for the scheme.

How to register?

To register for PM-SYM scheme, one has to visit the nearest CSC center and get registered. After this, the premium amount will be deducted from your account every month and deposited for retirement. The government and will contribute the same amount as done by the beneficiary towards their pension corpus. 

You need to carry your Aadhar card, passbook of your Savings bank account, or Jan-Dhan Account with IFSC code printed and a valid phone number.