Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

06-September-2012 17:35 IST

New Pension Scheme for Workers without benefit of Formal Pension

There are 6.92 crores members under Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 as on 31.03.2012. However, to ensure the welfare of the workers who are not benefited by any formal pension scheme, the Government has announced a co-contributory pension scheme the ‘Swalalamban’ whereby the Central Government would contribute a sum of Rs.1,000 per annum in each New Pension System (NPS) account opened having a savings of Rs.1,000 – Rs.12,000 per annum. The Scheme commenced in 2010-11. The Government will provide contribution for 5 years to the beneficiaries who register in the year 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 and therefore, the scheme has been extended up to the year 2016-17.

A total of 3,01,920 subscribers during 2010-11, 6,43,980 subscribers during 2011-12 and 90,061 subscribers till 30th August, 2012 in the current Financial Year have been enrolled under the Scheme.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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DSM/RS/Hb

Co-contributory pension scheme Swavalamban enables NPS accounts to receive government contributions for eligible low-saving workers. Establishment of the Swalalambanco-contributory pension scheme providing Government contributions into New Pension System accounts for workers without formal pensions whose own annual NPS savings fall within a specified low-savings band. The Government funds a fixed annual contribution for eligible accounts for a prescribed five-year period for beneficiaries who register in the designated initial enrollment years, and the scheme's term has been administratively extended to cover subsequent specified years.