Aadhaar Now Mandatory For Pension Scheme PMVVY

In a notification dated 23 December, the Finance Ministry has asked investors of Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) to submit their proof of Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentication to continue availing benefits.

It further said that those without the unique identification number should enrol for Aadhaar to continue receiving benefits.

PMVVY is a pension scheme that allows senior citizens to participate through LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India). The government had announced the scheme in two versions at the Union Budgets presentations for FY 2018 and 2019.

Through the yojana, pensioners were offered an assured rate of return in the range of 8-8.3 percent depending on the mode of pension chosen by the individual.

Those who do not have an Aadhaar number or have just enrolled for one will have to submit the Aadhaar enrolment Identification Slip along with any of the following documents:

• Bank passbook or post office passbook with photo
• Voter Identity Card
• Ration Card
• PAN
• Driving license
• Passport
• MGNREGA Card
• Kisan Photo Passbook
• Certificate of identity having a photo of such person issued by a gazetted person on an official letterhead
• Any other document as specified by the Finance Ministry

If Aadhaar authentication fails due to poor biometrics or any other reason, other methods for authentication including Integrated Risk Information system, face authentication, Aadhaar One-Time Password (OTP), verification of Aadhaar number using QR code on the physical Aadhaar card, etc can be employed.

The PMVVY was provided as an additional investment opportunity for senior citizens as a subsidized pension scheme. Being a Government of India scheme, LIC is the sole operator. Senior citizens are allowed to invest up to Rs 15 lakh and the last date to invest is 31 March 2020.