The Ministry of Labour & Employment recently reported that close to 46 lakh Unorganised Workers (UWs) are now registered under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PM-SYM) pension scheme. The UW sector is broad and diverse, encapsulating a variety of roles from rickshaw pullers and street vendors, to domestic workers and agricultural laborers. It is approximated there are 45 crore individuals involved in such unorganized work across the nation.
Introduction to the PM-SYM Pension Scheme
PM-SYM is a Central Sector Scheme overseen by the Ministry of Labour and Employment and facilitated through Life Insurance Corporation of India and Community Service Centers (CSCs). Life Insurance Corporation acts as the Pension Fund Manager and is accountable for Pension distribution.
Who is Eligible?
To be eligible for the PM-SYM scheme, one must be an Unorganised Worker (UW) with a monthly income of Rs 15000 or less. Individuals must fall into the age bracket of 18 and 40 years and possess a mobile phone, savings bank account, and Aadhaar number. It is also specified that beneficiaries must not already be covered under the New Pension Scheme (NPS), Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) scheme, or Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), and should not be an income tax payer.
Main Scheme Features
Upon reaching 60 years, each subscriber of the PM-SYM scheme is guaranteed a minimum pension of Rs 3000/- per month. In the event of a subscriber’s death during their pension receipt period, the surviving spouse is entitled to receive 50% of the pension as a family pension. This benefit, however, exclusively applies to spouses. If a contributor regularly deposited funds and prematurely passed away, their spouse can choose to either continue the scheme by regularly contributing or exit according to the stipulated withdrawal and exit provisions.
Contributions by subscribers are automated and debited from their savings bank account or Jan-Dhan account. The PM-SYM scheme operates on a 50:50 basis, where an age-dependent contribution is made by the beneficiary and matched by the Central Government.
Additional Government Schemes for the Unorganized Sector
To further support the UWs, the government has rolled out additional initiatives such as Labour Reforms, Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY), PM SVANidhi: Micro Credit Scheme for Street Vendors, Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana, National Urban Livelihoods Mission, PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY), One Nation One Ration Card, Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, and World Bank Support to India’s Informal Working Class. This collection of programs intends to extend a helping hand to this challenging yet significant sector of India’s economy.
