5 Pension Schemes For Senior Citizens Offered By The Government of India

Old age comes with its challenges. People who are working in private firms or govt firms are worried about their financial stability during retirement. Retirement comes with the fact that the salary will not come now. We should know that our expenses in old age will become more as compared to young age, it will add the medical experience and other personal care due to the age factor. To maintain regular monthly income post-retirement, people should plan at a young age. 

We aim to enlighten the scheme that govt of India offers for post-retirement plans. These are known as pension saving schemes for senior citizens, launched particularly to give security and financial stability after the job to old age people. Continue reading for the entire details on the Pension Schemes run by GOI. 

1. APY- Atal Pension Yojana

Atal Pension Yojana is built to keep in mind the income group of people. As we know, there are many options for the higher-income group but a few are for the lower-income group. The Atal Pension Yojana covers the employees who work in unorganized sectors. The Atal Pension Yojana encourages the lower income group people like workers, laborers, and others to invest each month in the pension scheme to ease the environment. A small contribution every month makes a big difference post-retirement. 

Features of Atal Pension Yojana:

1. The age of the people should be from 18 years to 40 years who want to apply for Atal Pension Yojana.
2. The person should have a bank account or post office account.
3. The pension amount after retirement will be Rs 1000, Rs 2000, Rs 3000, Rs 4000, or Rs 5000 PM. 
4. For the pension amount of Rs 5000 per month, the person should deposit Rs 210 per month from the age of 18 years. You can calculate the amount you should deposit each month from your age easily to get a Rs 5000 pension after 60 years. 
5. In case of the death of the person, the pension will be given to the wife or nominee. 
6. The center govt will contribute 50% of the amount in the Atal Pension Yojana part from the money you are depositing. 
7. To apply for the Atal Pension Yojana, the person should visit the bank or post office and fill out the form.

2. NPS- National Pension System

The National Pension System is the most prevalent pension scheme for senior citizens. The National Pension System is a voluntary pension scheme launched in 2004. Initially, the NPS was opened for the govt employees only but in 2009, the govt of India extended the National Pension System to private sector employees. 

The regulatory authority of NPS is the PFRDA, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. The NPS Pension Scheme aims to give financial security to the people after retirement. The person can deposit the amount in the NPS account during the job and use this amount after retirement. A person can choose Tier I, Tier II, or Tier III of the NPS Scheme. Each one has unique features and a deposit limit. 

Features of the National Pension System

1. The age of the person should be from 18 years to 70 years for National Pension System.
2. The amount deposited by a person during the working age can be taken in two parts after retirement, some money as a corpus amount and some money as a monthly pension.
3. The National Pension System has inflation-adjusted returns to the subscribers. As a part of the money of NPS is invested in market-linked instruments like equities. It implies that a person may get higher insert and return in NPS as compared to PPF or FD.
4. A person can withdraw the money after three years of opening the account. The withdrawal is allowed for the home loan, child education, medical emergency, etc.
5. The person who subscribes to the NPS Schmee can withdraw 60% of the amount after the retirement as corpus and the rest of the 40% amount will be going for the monthly pension.
6. The corpus amount is free of tax.

3. PMVVY -Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana is a government-supported pension scheme for Senior Citizens. The govt has pension schemes to make a risk-free future for old age people. You can easily apply for the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana through an insurance provider like LIC. The person gets assured returns after 10 years. 

Features Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana

1. The rate of interest for the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana is 8% per annum.
2. The PMVVY pension scheme has a tenure of 10 years.
3. A person can invest an amount of Rs 100 to a maximum of Rs 15 lac in Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana.
4. The nominees will get the benefit in case of the death of a person in PMVVY.
5. The person can apply for a loan up to 75% of the deposit amount after three years of the policy.
6. The minimum entry age is 60 years and the maximum age has no limit.
7. A person can get a minimum pension of Rs 1000 PM to a maximum of Rs 9250 PM in Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana.
8. If a person wants to discontinue the PMVVY Pension Scheme, he will get the amount of 98%, the 2% will be the penalty. 

4. VPBY – Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana

It is a government-sponsored pension scheme for old age people. Once the premium of Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana is paid, the person is about to get a regular pension. The person will get the return on the rate of 8% PA for 20 years. The person can choose the pension mode whether they want a monthly pension, quarterly pension, half-yearly pension, or yearly pension.

The Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana is implemented through the LIC, the premium amount can be chosen by the person at the start of the VBPY. The person can choose a lock-in period in VBPY, if you choose the lock-in period of 5 years, you can not withdraw the amount for 15 years. 

Features of Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana

1. The payment process in VBPY is either ECS o NEFT.
2. The person will get a free lock period of 15 days, in case they change their mind to discontinue the VBPY Pension scheme, they can do it in 15 initial days.
3. During the health of the VBPY pension holder, the amount will be given to the nominees/wife/beneficiary.
4. A person can apply for the loan up to 75% of the invested amount, it will be applicable after three years of the beginning of the VBPY Pension Scheme.
5. The person can apply for the income tax benefit under section 80CCC.
6. A person whose age of 60 years can apply, 60 years is the minimum age for VBPY.
7. If a person invests Rs 5 Lac after the age of 60 years, he will receive Rs 46000 per annum as a pension. It is in the interests of the money. 

5. IGNOAPS- Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme

Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme is run by GOI to secure the future of senior citizens. The IGNOAPS Pension scheme was started by GOI in 2007. The popular name of the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme is NSAP, the National Social Assistance Programme. The NSAP Pension scheme provides pensions to widows, senior citizens, and disabled people.

Features of Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme

1. The NSAP pension scheme was launched for the benefit of poor people who are below the poverty line.
2. The NSAP is a non-contribution govt pension scheme, implying that the person does not have to contribute any amount to the NSAP Pension scheme.
3. The person who is in the age group of 60 years to 79 years will get a monthly payment of Rs 200 and after the age of 79 years, the pension will be Rs 500 per month.
4. The govt will transfer the pension account directly into the bank account of the beneficiary.
5. The person can apply for the NSAP online or offline or using the UMANG app.

Conclusion

A person who wants to secure the future after retirement can start investing every month in a suitable pension scheme. The other option is that, when you retire, you can put a fixed amount in any of the pension schemes, which will give you the interest amount as a monthly pension. We recommended the person go for the government-supported schemes for the pension. 

Any person who is going to apply for the Pension Scheme must first check the eligibility for the scheme, documents required to apply, registered mobile number, bank account, etc. You can apply for pension schemes online and offline by visiting the bank or the specified organization. In case of any doubt, contact us below.