National Pension System to Atal Pension Yojana: Three Pension Schemes to secure old age EXPLAINED

Retirement planning is one of the most important activities of earning individuals. There are several ways in which they can do this. The government recently rolled out Prime Minister Shram-Yogi Maandhan (PMSYM) pension scheme. Before this, people had the option to invest in the National Pension System (NPS) or Atal Pension Yojana (APY) for a regular flow of money every month after retirement. In both APY and PMSYM, the government guarantees fixed pension amounts after retirement with an investment of a certain amount in pre-retirement years. In contrast, the money in NPS is used by investment fund managers and the final returns to account holders depend much on the market performance. APY and PMSYM cater to the needs of those working in the unorganized sector while any salaried person can invest in NPS. Here are more details you need to know about these pension schemes:

PMSYM

In Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan pension scheme, any worker in the unorganized sector, who is below 40 years of age and not taking benefit of any other government pension scheme, can enrol. Workers associated with the unorganized sector, household workers, drivers, rickshaw drivers, construction workers, waste pickers, bidi workers can benefit from this scheme.

A subscriber can get a monthly pension of Rs 3000 under PMSYM. The government and pensioner invest the same amount in the scheme for pension. You must have a savings bank account and an Aadhaar card to apply for PMSYM. The age of the person should not be less than 18 years and not more than 40 years.

If you subscribe to this scheme at the age of 18, then you will have to deposit just Rs 55 every month. At the same time, the person who starts this scheme from the age of 40, will have to deposit Rs 200 every month. Pension starts after you complete 60 years of age.

Atal Pension Yojana

This scheme is also for workers in the unorganized sector. Under this, there is a provision to provide a guaranteed pension of minimum Rs 1000, Rs 2000, Rs 3000, Rs 4000 and Rs 5000 every month after the subscriber completes 60 years of age. A person up to the age of 40 years can apply for the Atal Pension Yojana.

National Pension System (NPS)

NPS is a voluntary defined contribution retirement saving scheme. Any salaried person can subscribe to this scheme. How much money you will get as pension from NPS after completing 60 years will depend on the performance of the market.

In NPS, one can expect a healthy return of 8 to 12 per cent. The responsibility of investing the money deposited in the NPS lied with registered pension fund managers of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). At present, eight fund managers are associated with the scheme. They who invest the money in schemes like equity, government securities and non-government securities.

You can open NPS account at several public and private banks.