Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is a guaranteed pension scheme launched by the Government of India, focused on the unorganised sector workers.
Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is focused on all citizens in the unorganized sector. The scheme is administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) through NPS architecture.
Under the Atal Pension Yojana, there is a guaranteed minimum monthly pension for the subscribers ranging between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 per month. The benefit of minimum pension would be guaranteed by the Government of India.
The pension regulator PFRDA has informed via Tweet that “You can increase/decrease the APY pension amount and/or change the frequency of auto-debit (monthly/quarterly/half-yearly) of APY contributions at any time by submitting a request to the concerned APY-Service Provider bank branch.”
Under the scheme, the government will also co-contribute 50 per cent of the subscriber’s contribution or Rs 1,000 per annum, whichever is lower. Government co-contribution is available for those who are not covered by any Statutory Social Security Schemes and are not the income taxpayer.
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Who can subscribe to APY?
Any Citizen of India can join the APY scheme. The following are the eligibility criteria: –
1) The age of the subscriber should be between 18 and 40 years.
2) He / She should have a savings bank account/ post office savings bank account
The prospective applicants may provide their mobile number to the bank during their enrolments under APY to receive periodic updates on their APY account as well as on the APY scheme. Aadhaar may also be provided at the time of enrolment as the APY scheme is notified for the same.
On attaining the age of 60 years, the exit from Atal Pension Yojana is permitted with 100 per cent annuitisation of pension wealth. On exit, the pension would be available to the subscriber.
In case of death of the Subscriber due to any cause, the pension would be available to the spouse and on the death of both of them (subscriber and spouse), the pension corpus would be returned to his nominee.
And what if the Atal Pension Yojana is exit before the age of 60 years? Well, the exit before 60 years of age is not permitted however it is permitted only in exceptional circumstances, i.e., in the event of the death of a beneficiary or terminal disease.
What are the benefits under APY Scheme?
The subscriber shall receive the following three benefits on attaining the age of 60:
1) Guaranteed minimum pension amount: Each subscriber under APY shall receive the Government of India guaranteed minimum pension of Rs 1,000 per month or Rs 2,000 per month or Rs 3,000 per month or R. 4,000 per month or Rs 50,00 per month, after the age of 60 years until death.
2) Guaranteed minimum pension amount to the spouse: After the subscriber’s demise, the spouse of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the same pension amount as that of the subscriber, until the death of the spouse.
3) Return of the pension wealth to the nominee of the subscriber: After the demise of both the subscriber and the spouse, the nominee of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the pension wealth, as accumulated till the age of 60 years of the subscriber.
