February Welfare Pension Distribution from 25th: Rs 1,050 Crore Allocated

Thiruvananthapuram: The February's Social Security and Welfare Fund pensions will be distributed from the 25th onwards. Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal announced that Rs 1,050 crore has been allocated for this purpose. About 62 lakh people will receive a pension of Rs 2,000 each. For 26.62 lakh beneficiaries, the amount will be directly credited to their bank accounts. For the others, the pension will be delivered to their homes through cooperative banks. Welfare pensions for Welfare Fund members will be distributed through the respective boards.

The central share of the National Pension Scheme (NPS) is provided by the Central Government for 8.46 lakh beneficiaries. In cases where this share is not received on time, the state has provisionally released Rs 24.21 crore from the central share. This amount will be credited to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts through the Central Government’s PFMS system. The state has requested that delays in this process be minimized as much as possible.

So far, the government has distributed Rs 49,433.83 crore in welfare pensions. The first Pinarayi government made Rs 35,154 crore available to pensioners, while the UDF government (2011–16) distributed Rs 9,011 crore. The first and second Pinarayi governments increased pensions to Rs 2,000 in phases. Currently, about Rs 1,050 is being provided as a pension, which is distributed monthly without any arrears.

At present, welfare pension distribution costs around Rs 14,500 crore per year. A provision for this amount has also been included in the budget for the next fiscal year.