the goan I network
PANAJI
A number of bankers have said that people are not coming forward to open an account under Atal Pension Yojana voluntarily. Due to this, banks have to make a lot of efforts to convince people of the benefits of Atal Pension Yojana and even then the response is not what was expected.
Sources informed that 11,906 accounts were opened in North Goa under Atal Pension Yojana as on June 30, 2018.
Atal Pension Yojana is aimed at low middle income and poor workers like drivers, construction workers, domestic help or any kind of labour, who don’t get pension from their employers.
This scheme allows for a fixed contribution per month till they turn 60 years of age, after which, based on their contribution, they are given a fixed monthly pension.
In order to attract people to the scheme, the central government also makes 50% co-contribution of the amount put in by a person under Atal Pension Yojana for the first 5 years.
The idea is to get more and more people to take benefit of the scheme so that they have financial assistance in their old age.
A source from a public sector bank, who didn’t wish to be named said, “One of the main reasons people are not coming forward for this scheme is because the monthly pension they will get after turning 60 is really negligible.”
Suppose a person, who is 35 years of age, starts contributing today under APY.
Further, assume that he goes for an option, which allows him to get pension of Rs 5,000/month .
Twenty five years from now when he turns 60, the value of Rs 5,000 will have diminished significantly due to inflation.
Another banker, on the condition of anonymity, said, “A lot of poor workers at which Atal Pension Yojana is aimed earn very little wages. They find it tough to contribute even a miniscule amount every month to get pension at a later stage of their lives. Moreover, if they have a wedding in their family, they have the habit of spending whatever they have saved. It becomes difficult to convince such people to contribute to a scheme like this.”
