A PEEP at Pension Schemes

Public Evaluation of Entitlement Programs PEEP was initiated by

researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in May-June 2013.
Almost 900 pensioners were interviewed across ten states: Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
Does pension mean retirement?
The majority of the pensioners in spite of their old age continue to work.
This includes casual and agricultural labour or household work. Only
around 15% of the respondents said they were physically unable to
work.
Small Amount, Huge Relief
The central government pays very low amounts as pension; Rs. 200 a
month to the elderly and Rs. 300 a month to widows. Even these small
amounts are a huge relief to the beneficiaries. The pension is spent on
food items, much needed medicines, to repair clothes & shoes on haat
day and trinkets for their grandchildren.
Low level of leakages
The survey did not uncover any evidence of major fraud in social
security pensions. Among the respondents selected at random from the
official pension lists, 97% were getting their pension. Most of the
remaining 3% were cases of faulty record-keeping rather than fraud.
Unpredictability of payment
The majority of pensioners reported that they receive their full pension.
However, across states the delivery of pensions remains irregular, with
no fixed date for receipt.
High Transaction Costs for Collecting Payment
Most pensioners collect the pensions themselves, trekking an average
distance of 5.5km to the nearest bank or post office. An average round
trip to collect pensions is close to five hours. The majority said they have
to routinely make more than one trip to get their pensions.
Inter State Comparisons
Tamil Nadu, one of the pioneers of social security pensions, pays Rs
1,000 per month. Rajasthan has recently adopted the principle of nearuniversal social security pensions. In Orissa, pension schemes are being
streamlined with regular public disbursement of pensions in cash.
Suggestions for reform
a) Increase pension amounts and index to inflation
b) Increase coverage to universalise with exclusions and simplify
application procedure
c) States with political will are implementing the scheme well, need for
will from the Centre
For more information (photos, videos, reports, articles, survey
questionnaires)
Outlook: www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?289801
IIT Delhi: http://bitly.com/1fRN35w



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: http://www.outlookhindi.com/articlefullwidth.aspx?289842
I.I.T : http://bitly.com/1fRN35w