Swavalamban subscribers can switch to APY: PFRDA

Subscribers of micro-pension scheme 'Swavalamban', which closes tomorrow, can switch to the 'Atal Pension Yojana' (APY) and retain the government's co-contribution, a PFRDA official said today.
'Swavalamban' scheme, which was launched by the UPA government in 2010-11, is a government-backed micro-pension scheme aimed at the unorganised sector and applicable to those who joined the National Pension Scheme (NPS).
Under the scheme, the government contributes Rs 1,000 per year to each NPS account for the first four years.
"However, this co-contribution of Rs 1,000 per annum by the government will not be there for the subscribers of both micro-pension schemes 'Swavalamban' and NPS Lite, which have together got 44 lakh subscribers under their fold and total assets under management of Rs 2,083 crore at present, from April 1 onwards," a senior official of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) told PTI.

"This 'Swavalamban' scheme has been replaced with APY which was launched in June last year and hence we are not accepting any fresh subscription under 'Swavalamban' scheme since then.
"PFRDA is offering to continue the government's co-contribution of Rs 1,000 per annum for next three years to all those 'Swavalamban' subscribers who opt to shift to APY from April 1," the official added.

Unlike 'Swavalamban', which was open to all those working in the unorganised sector, APY is applicable only to workers in the age group of 18-40 years.
APY has around 22 lakh subscribers and assets under management of Rs 492 crore.

Pension fund managers believe that the replacement of 'Swavalamban' scheme with APY will help them do more business.
"We at SBI Pension Funds do hope to see a similar or even better business growth due to PFRDA's decision to replace 'Swavalamban' scheme with APY in future," SBI Pension Funds' Chief Executive Shailendra Kumar said.