Pension Schemes for Senior Citizens, Disabled & Widow Pension Scheme

What is the current situation?

This is high time the government opens its eyes to the plight of the widows; disabled, and the senior citizen who are struggling to make their ends meet, with mere INR 300 and INR 200, and INR 800 for those who are above the age of eighty. Restructuring of the current pension program is surely the need of the hour and this decision is bound to attract praise from all quarters.

How is this pension scheme going to work?

In order to ensure that the right people can benefit from the newly overhauled pension scheme, there is much change on the cards, which includes the overall eligibility criteria. For example, until now, only those with 80% physical disability were eligible for this kind of pension but now the government is planning to lower the bar to 40% in order to bring more people within the safety net of regular pensions. Similarly, lowering of age for the widow pensioners is also in the cards. This comes down to eighteen from the earlier 40. According to the changing of the current pension scheme, the government also wants to pay the pension on a fixed day in the month. It is going to be possible through the implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) plan by the next year.

Pressure on Government Funds

With the government plan of reducing the age limits, changing the definition of disability, and actively trying to bring in more people within their current pension scheme through overhauling, it is no wonder that the pressure on the government coiffeurs is all set to rise in the coming times. According to the initial estimates, this figure for the beneficiaries is going to increase to a staggering nine crore from the current expenditure of 2.9 crores.  Today the government spends around 10 crores for providing regular pensions to this 2.9 crores people, so what the amounts are going to stand on revision are surely a matter of speculation.

The new and improved pension scheme for the widows, the disabled and senior citizens if surely a much-awaited revision, which people were expecting from the government. However simply bringing in a scheme is not enough but measures have to be taken for its proper implementations and to ensure that everybody who is eligible gets the amounts allotted. How much this becomes possible, only time is going to tell. However, people including the respective state governments are waiting expectantly to see this plan bear fruit in the coming times.