Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana

The Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PM-SYM) Yojana is a government scheme that provides social security and old age protection for unorganised workers. It is a contributory and voluntary pension scheme for unorganised workers. The government also provides a matching contribution of the pension for this yojana.

The pension amount provided under the PM-SYM helps unorganised workers aid their financial requirements. It is a tribute to the workers in the unorganised sectors who contribute around 50% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Unorganised workers are those individuals who are mostly engaged as home-based workers, mid-day meal workers, street vendors, brick kiln workers, head loaders, cobblers, domestic workers, rag pickers, washermen, landless labourers, rickshaw pullers, own-account workers, construction workers, agricultural workers, beedi workers, leather workers, handloom workers, audio-visual workers or workers in similar other occupations. 

Eligibility Criteria of the PM-SYM Yojana

The eligibility criteria for obtaining benefits of the PM-SYM Yojana are as follows:

• An individual needs to be an unorganised worker. 
• The entry age of the individual must be between 18 to 40 years.
• The individual’s monthly income should be equal to or below Rs.15,000. 
• The individual should not be engaged in the organised sector, i.e. not be a member of EPFO, ESIC or NPS.
• The individual should not be an income taxpayer.
• The individual should possess an Aadhaar card and a savings bank account or Jan Dhan account number with IFSC.

Benefits of the PM-SYM Yojana

Pension benefits

• The applicants between the age of 18 to 40 years will have to make a monthly contribution ranging between Rs.55 to Rs.200 until they attain 60 years.
• Once the beneficiary joins the PM-SYM yojana, he/she will have to contribute till he/she attains 60 years.
• The subscriber/beneficiary will receive a minimum assured pension of Rs.3,000 per month after attaining the age of 60 years.
• The beneficiary can claim the pension amount upon attaining the age of 60. Each month a fixed pension amount gets deposited in the pension account of the respective beneficiary/individual.
• When the subscriber dies, the beneficiary’s spouse will be entitled to receive a 50% pension as a family pension. However, the family pension is applicable only to the spouse.

Benefits on disablement

When an eligible subscriber has contributed to the PM-SYM regularly but becomes permanently disabled due to any reason before attaining 60 years and is unable to continue to contribute, his/her spouse will be entitled to continue the yojana by making payment of regular contribution.

The disabled subscriber who cannot continue contribution can also exit the yojana by receiving the contribution share deposited by him/her with interest as earned on the pension fund or the interest at the savings bank interest rate, whichever is higher.

Benefits of leaving the yojana

• When an eligible subscriber exits the PM-SYM Yojana within ten years from the date of joining the yojana, only the contribution share will be returned to him/her with a savings bank rate of interest payable.
• When an eligible subscriber exits after completion of ten years or more from the date of joining the yojana but before attaining 60 years, then only his/her share of contribution will be returned along with the accumulated interest as earned by the Pension Fund or the interest at the savings bank interest rate, whichever is higher.
• When an eligible subscriber has contributed to the PM-SYM regularly but dies due to any cause, his/her spouse will be entitled to continue the yojana by making payment of regular contribution. 
• When an eligible subscriber dies due to any cause, his/her spouse can exit the yojana by receiving the contribution share paid by such subscriber along with accumulated interest as earned thereon by the Pension Fund or the savings bank interest rate, whichever is higher.
• After the death of the subscriber and his/her spouse, the corpus will be credited back to the fund.

PM-SYM Yojana Application Process

The steps for application to the PM-SYM yojana are as follows:

Step 1: The interested eligible persons should visit the nearest CSC (Common Services Centre) centre.

Step 2: The eligible persons should carry the following documents for enrollment:

• Aadhaar card
• Savings or Jan Dhan bank account details along with IFSC Code (Bank passbook, cheque leave/book or bank statement as evidence of bank account)

Step 3: The eligible subscriber should make the initial contribution amount in cash to the Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE).

Step 4: The VLE will enter the Aadhaar number, the subscriber’s name, and the date of birth for authentication.

Step 5: The VLE will do the online registration by filling up the details such as mobile number, email, spouse details, bank account details, and nominee details. 

Step 6: The self-certification for eligibility conditions should be done.

Step 7: The system will auto calculate the monthly contribution payable as per the subscriber’s age.

Step 8: The subscriber will have to pay the first subscription amount in cash to the VLE.

Step 9: The subscriber should sign the printed enrollment cum auto-debit mandate form. The VLE will scan the form and upload it into the system.

Step 10: A unique ShramYogi Pension Account Number (SPAN) will be generated, and the Shram Yogi Card will be printed.

Mode of Payment of the PM-SYM Yojana

The subscriber should make the first contribution in cash at the CSC centre. After that, the primary mode of contribution is by auto-debit every month. However, the yojana also has quarterly, half-yearly or yearly contribution provisions.