Atal Pension Yojana (APY)

Atal Pension Yojana (APY) addresses the old age income security of the working poor and the longevity risks among the workers in unorganised sector. It encourages the workers in unorganised sector to voluntarily save for their retirement. The Government had launched the scheme with effect from 1st June, 2015. The scheme replaces the Swavalamban Yojana / NPS Lite scheme.

Benefits of APY

• Fixed pension for the subscribers ranging between Rs.1000 to Rs. 5000 after the age of 60 years, based on the contributions made by the subscriber after joining the scheme.
• The monthly pension is available to the subscriber, and after him to his spouse and after their death, the pension corpus, as accumulated at age 60 of the subscriber, would be returned to the nominee of the subscriber.
• In case of premature death of subscriber (death before 60 years of age), spouse of the subscriber can continue contribution to APY account of the subscriber, for the remaining vesting period, till the original subscriber would have attained the age of 60 year
• Contributions to the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is eligible for tax benefits similar to the National Pension System (NPS). The tax benefits include the additional deduction of Rs 50,000 under section 80CCD(1).

Eligibility for APY

Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is open to all bank account holders who are not members of any statutory social security scheme.

Any individual who is eligible to receive benefits under the APY will have to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or undergo enrolment under Aadhaar authentication. An APY subscriber will have to get the Aadhaar number recorded in his or her APY pension account and also in his/ her savings account where the periodic pension contribution instalments are debited and government co-contribution is to be credited.

Age of joining and contribution period

The minimum age of joining APY is 18 years and maximum age is 40 years. Therefore, minimum period of contribution by the subscriber under APY would be 20 years or more.

Focus of APY

Mainly targeted at unorganised sector workers.

Enrollment and Subscriber Payment

All bank account holders under the eligible category may join APY with auto-debit facility to accounts, leading to reduction in contribution collection charges.

Enrollment agencies

All Points of Presence (Service Providers) and Aggregators under Swavalamban Scheme would enroll subscribers through architecture of National Pension System.

Operational Framework of APY

It is Government of India Scheme, which is administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. The Institutional Architecture of NPS would be utilised to enroll subscribers under APY.

Age of Joining, Contribution Levels, Fixed Monthly Pension and Return of Corpus to the nominee of subscribers

The Table of contribution levels, fixed monthly pension to subscribers and his spouse and return of corpus to nominees of subscribers and the contribution period is given below. For example, to get a fixed monthly pension between Rs. 1,000 per month and Rs. 5,000 per month, the subscriber has to contribute on monthly basis between Rs. 42 and Rs. 210, if he joins at the age of 18 years. For the same fixed pension levels, the contribution would range between Rs. 291 and Rs. 1,454, if the subscriber joins at the age of 40 years.

Table of contribution levels, fixed monthly pension of Rs. 1,000 per month to subscribers and his spouse and return of corpus to nominees of subscribers and the contribution period under Atal Pension Yojana

Table of contribution levels, fixed monthly pension of Rs. 2,000 per month to subscribers and his spouse and return of corpus to nominees of subscribers and the contribution period under Atal Pension Yojana.

Table of contribution levels, fixed monthly pension of Rs. 3,000 per month to subscribers and his spouse and return of corpus to nominees of subscribers and the contribution period under Atal Pension Yojana.

Table of contribution levels, fixed monthly pension of Rs. 4,000 per month to subscribers and his spouse and return of corpus to nominees of subscribers and the contribution period under Atal Pension Yojana.

Table of contribution levels, fixed monthly pension of Rs. 5,000 per month to subscribers and his spouse and return of corpus to nominees of subscribers and the contribution period under Atal Pension Yojana.

For more information, contact APY Information Desk - Call Centre: 1800 110 069

Source: National Pension System Trust

Related resources

1. FAQs on APY
2. APY calculator
3. Forms related to APY