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In this article, we would understand the three social
security schemes recently launched by the government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched two insurance and one
pension scheme on May 9 for the welfare of thousands who have no access to
both. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) is an accident insurance
scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) provides life
insurance while the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is to provide fixed income for
workers in the unorganised sector.
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha
Bima Yojana
1)
The scheme offers accidental death and
disability cover for savings bank account holders in the age group of 18-70
years.
2)
The scheme offers Rs.2 lakhs for accidental
death and full disability (loss of use of both eyes, feet and hands or of one
eye and a hand/foot) and Rs.1 lakh for partial disability (loss of use of one
eye or of a hand/foot) for an annual premium of Rs.12 plus service tax.
3)
The scheme would be primarily offered by Public
Sector General Insurance Companies besides other companies willing to administer
it on similar terms in coordination with participating banks.
4)
The person will be covered for the one year
period from June 1 to May 31. The subscriber has to consent to enable auto-debit
so as to enrol for the scheme and renew the policy annually.
5)
Following are the conditions for termination of
membership: when the member attains 70 years of age, if the account is closed prematurely,
if there is insufficient funds to keep the insurance in force and if the member
is found to be insured under the scheme through more than one account.
6)
As on August 17, 2015, 8.12 crore people have enroled
for the PMSBY.
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana
1)
This is a pure life insurance or term life
insurance product. This means, in case of sudden death of the policyholder, the
nominee will receive the sum assured. However, if nothing happens to the
policyholder, then the nominee will receive no benefit/returns.
2)
All savings account holders in the age group of
18-50 years are eligible to enrol.
3)
The scheme offers Rs.2 lakhs on death of the
member due to any reason for an annual premium of Rs.330 plus service tax.
4)
The person will be covered for one year from
June 1 to May 31 and has to consent to auto-debit. This is also a yearly
renewable scheme.
5)
Following are the conditions for termination of
membership: when the member attains 55 years of age, if the account is closed
prematurely, if there is insufficient funds to keep the insurance in force and if
the member is found to be insured under the scheme through more than one
account.
6)
As on August 17, 2015, 2.74 crore people have
opted for PMJJBY.
7)
To reach out to eligible account holders and encourage
them to enrol for PMSBY and PMJJBY, participating banks have launched a special
drive during August-September called ‘Suraksha Bandhan’ ahead of the Rakshabandhan
festival. New products and schemes have been initiated with Suraksha tag,
namely like Jeevan Suraksha Gift Cheques, the Suraksha Deposit Scheme and Jeevan
Suraksha Deposit Scheme.
Atal Pension Yojana
1)
It was launched on June 1 of this year and the
existing members of Swavalamban scheme (pension scheme launched in 2011 for the
unorganised sector) will be directly transferred to APY.
2)
All bank account holders within the age group of
18-40 years can enrol for APY.
3)
The scheme’s main focus is to ensure a formal pension
provision for the unorganised sector. Subscribers are entitled to a fixed
income pension of Rs.1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 or Rs.5000 per month starting at 60
years of age, depending on the contributions, which would be based on the age of
joining the APY.
4)
One of the important benefits of this scheme is
that the Union government will give 50% of the user’s contribution or Rs.1000 per
year for a period of 5 years. This is applicable only for members who will join
the National Pension Scheme before December 31, 2015, and are not income tax payers
and members of any statutory social security scheme.
5)
There are 5 plans under APY offering different
pensions at different ages and thus contribution of members would vary. For
instance: If a person wants a pension of Rs.5000 and he is 25 years old, then he
would have to contribute be Rs.376 for the next 35 years.
6)
On August 20, to make the scheme more attractive
the government made a few changes to the original rules. Firstly, the revision
allows members contribute on a monthly, quarterly or half-yearly basis as
against the original rule of monthly contributions. Secondly, premature exit
from the scheme before the subscriber attains 60 years of age is permitted (though
he will lose out on the government’s contribution). Thirdly, penalty charge for
delayed contributions has been lowered. Further, discontinuation of
subscription payment will not lead to closure of the account till the balance
becomes zero.
7)
As on August 17, 2015, 6.58 lakh subscribers
have joined APY.
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