SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir had 907 beneficiaries under the Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) as of January 31, 2026, while Ladakh had no beneficiaries under the pension scheme, according to data presented in the Lok Sabha.
The figures were provided by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1192, raised by Shri Joyanta Basumatary and answered on July 27, 2026.
The state-wise data showed that JK accounted for 907 of the 3,43,231 VPBY beneficiaries recorded across the country as of January 31, 2026. Ladakh, along with Lakshadweep and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, had zero beneficiaries.
Among neighbouring regions, Himachal Pradesh had 1,248 beneficiaries, Punjab 3,967 and Haryana 3,648. Maharashtra recorded the highest number at 75,407, followed by West Bengal with 52,515 and Gujarat with 38,133.
The Finance Ministry also informed the House that 151 complaints relating to VPBY were received during financial year 2025-26. These included 54 cases concerning non-receipt of annuity, 29 death claims, seven surrender-related complaints, 29 concerning submission of life certificates and 32 other servicing matters. The ministry said all these complaints had been resolved by June 2026.
During the first quarter of financial year 2026-27, 33 complaints were received, comprising 11 related to non-receipt of annuity, three death claims, 11 concerning submission of life certificates and eight other servicing matters. These complaints were also stated to have been resolved.
The government said the total subsidy received from it under the VPBY plan from 2003-04 to 2025-26 stood at Rs 3,424.21 crore. The subsidy received during 2025-26 was Rs 81.45 crore.
The ministry further clarified that no tax is collected at the time of disbursement of annual benefits under VPBY policies. It also said no proposal was under consideration to bring the scheme under the “exempt” category for tax purposes.
The VPBY beneficiary data was supplied in Annexure A to the reply, while details of grievances and government subsidy were provided in Annexures B and C respectively.
