National Pension Scheme for Traders and Self Employed Persons

A ₹3,000-a-Month Pension for Small Traders: What You Need to Know

If you run a small shop or work for yourself and have no employer pension, a government scheme can pay you a minimum of ₹3,000 every month after you turn 60. Contributions start at just ₹55 a month.

What the scheme gives you

The National Pension Scheme for Traders and Self Employed Persons was launched on 12 September 2019 by the Ministry of Labour & Employment. It began as the Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-dhan Yojana (PM-LVM), and older government records may still use that name.

The scheme is voluntary and contributory. You pay a small amount every month, and the Central Government matches it rupee for rupee, so every ₹100 you put in becomes ₹200 in your pension fund. After 60, you receive a minimum assured pension of ₹3,000 per month, subject to scheme conditions. If you die while receiving the pension, your spouse gets 50% of it as family pension.

Who can join

You can enrol if you are an Indian citizen aged 18 to 40 and work as a trader, shopkeeper or self-employed person. Your annual business turnover must be ₹1.5 crore or less.

You cannot join if you pay income tax, are a member of EPFO or covered by ESIC, are covered under an excluded category of the National Pension System, or are already enrolled in the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana (PM-SYM).

What you pay each month

Your contribution depends only on your age when you join, so the earlier you start, the less you pay. At 18 you pay ₹55 a month. At 25 it is ₹80, at 29 it is ₹100, at 35 it is ₹150 and at 40 it is ₹200. The government adds the same amount on top each month, and contributions continue until you reach 60.

How to enrol

Keep your Aadhaar card, a savings bank or Jan Dhan account with its IFSC code, your mobile number, and your GSTIN (if it applies to you) ready. Make sure your Aadhaar and bank details match, because errors can cause problems with later payments.

At a Common Service Centre (CSC), take those documents and ask the operator to register you under the scheme. You will complete Aadhaar authentication and an eligibility declaration, pay the initial contribution, and sign an auto-debit authorisation for future months. Keep the acknowledgement or pension account details afterwards.

You can also try the Maandhan portal. Check whether self-enrolment for the trader pension scheme is available, verify your mobile number by OTP, enter your details, complete the declarations and follow the payment instructions. If the online option isn’t available or you’re unsure about your eligibility, a CSC can guide you.

If you leave early, or something happens

You aren’t locked in until 60, but leaving early means giving up the pension and the government’s share. If you exit within 10 years of joining, your own contributions are returned with savings bank interest. If you exit after 10 years but before 60, you get them back with either the fund’s accumulated interest or savings bank interest, whichever is higher.

If the subscriber dies or becomes permanently disabled before 60, the spouse can continue the scheme by paying the contributions or exit under the scheme rules. Missed contributions can be regularised under the applicable rules and charges.

Trader pension or PM-SYM?

The two schemes look alike, with the same entry age, the same ₹55 to ₹200 contributions, matching government money and a ₹3,000 minimum pension. The difference is who they are for. The trader scheme covers shopkeepers, traders and the self-employed with turnover up to ₹1.5 crore. PM-SYM covers unorganised-sector workers with monthly income up to ₹15,000. You can’t be enrolled in both, so pick the one that matches how you earn your living