Vijayawada: Old age pensioners have been facing a tricky situation in the banks.
About Rs 160 is getting deducted every month when they try to withdraw the pension from their zero-balance savings account. For this reason, they are not maintaining the minimum balance of Rs 5,000 in the zero-balance SB accounts.
In fact, while opening the accounts, they were told that they were given zero-balance accounts. Now, the banks started collecting penalty from the pensioners, for not maintaining the minimum balance.
Ch. Suryanarayana, an old age pensioner from Singh Nagar, speaking to this correspondent, said that the officials of nationalised banks, in Paipula Road, told him that Rs 160 would be deducted from this month, as penalty.
When he asked them the reason for this, they reportedly told him that the account holders need to maintain a minimum balance of Rs 5,000, failing which every month, Rs 160 would be deducted.
Mr. Suryanarayana has been taking old age pension, when it was just Rs 75 a month. Under YSR’s regime, old age pensioners used to get Rs 200 a month.
From 2014, the pension has been increased to Rs 1,000 and by quoting the same, the bank officials have asked him as to how he was managing the things, when he used to get a pension of Rs 75 per month. Irked with this, he lodged a complaint with the banking ombudsman.
