New Delhi: The Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA) has proposed to double the monthly pension limit to Rs 10,000 from the existing Rs 5,000 under the Atal Pension Yojana. The proposal is now under the consideration of the central government.
If approved, it will attract more people towards the scheme and provide better inflation-beating returns. “We have placed this proposal with the government that it should be increased,” said Hemant G. Contractor, chairman, PFRDA, at the Atal Pension Yojana Annual Conference on Tuesday.
The other change proposed was to increase the maximum age to enter the scheme to 50 years from the existing 40.
Madnesh Kumar Mishra, joint secretary, department of financial services, said: “We need to increase the value of the pension.
Atal Pension Yojana, which was introduced in June 2015 and aims to provide sustainable old-age income for more than 80% of India’s workforce, had recently touched the 10 million subscriber mark, with nearly five million people enrolling for the scheme in 2017-18. It is specifically aimed at the unorganized sector.
As on 31 March, 10.2 million subscribers have contributed to the scheme with Rs 4,400 crore. Currently the scheme has 60% men and 40% women, said K. Mohan Gandhi, general manager, PFRDA.