Atal Pension Yojana (APY) Eligibility, Benefits & Contribution

atal pension yojana is a age-wise investment pension scheme for low-income workers getting retirement benefits, which is administered by PFRDA and NPS

Modernize culture rise in the cost of living and several maladies at old age badly mangled to human. So choosing one pension plan is mandatory for escaping from untoward incidents as well as leading a dignified life in old age. In this way Atal Pension Yojana (APY) scheme was introduced by the Government of India in 2015-16 for Indian citizens who worked in the unorganized sector to get a guaranteed minimum pension ranging between Rs 1000/- and Rs 5000/- per month at the mature age of 60 years with a minimal amount of contribution for carrying life calm and cool even in a crisis after retirement.

Eligible and Ineligible Guidelines:

  1. Any citizen of India with respect to unorganised worker whose age is between 18 and 40 years and containing a savings bank account/post office savings bank account are the real beneficiaries to subscribe this scheme while Government co-contribution is not given to those Income tax payers as well as covered under statutory social security schemes such as
    • Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1952
    • Seamen's Provident Fund Act, 1966
    • Jammu Kashmir Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1961 etc..
  2. According to the new rule, Any citizen who paying Income Tax from 1st October, 2022 shall not be eligible to join APY.
  3. You should provide a valid mobile number at the time of registration under APY because getting payment status and other updated notifications.

Benefits of Atal Pension Yojana Scheme:

(1). Guaranteed Pension:

Apy offers a guaranteed pension to subscribers on every month after attaining the age of 60 years with a minimum tenure of 20 years contribution lock period.

(2). Affordable Contribution:

The heartening news of the contribution amount is very affordable. The minimum contribution starts at just Rs 42 per month and goes up to a maximum of Rs 1,454 per month, depending on the age at which the subscriber joins and the amount of pension they want to receive.

(3). Tax Benefits:

Contributions made towards apy is a good to invest because eligible for Tax deductions under section 80 CCD of the Income Tax Act, 1961, up to a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakhs per year.

(4). Portable:

Shifting facility of the APY account from one bank branch to another branch or from one bank to another bank ensure you to get pension benefits even anywhere you reside in this country.

(5). Good rate of return:

According to Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) statement the scheme has generated an investment return of 8.69 % from the outset of the scheme.

(6). Death Coverage:

This scheme's bright outlook is quite encouraging for spouse contribution will be allowed to continue APY account on the death of benefactor age before 60 years. In case of the spouse's demise, the maximum benefit receives under Atal pension yojana to the nominee is up to 8.5 lakhs.

(7). No Market Risk:

The Atal Pension Yojana is a government-backed scheme, which means that taking a hard line to not losing hard-earned subscriber money, and the pension amount is guaranteed by the government.

(8). Enhanced Scheme Benefit Involved:

In the sense that actual returns does not mitigate expecting returns on the pension otherwise such shortfall amount is funded by the government. In case actual returns are higher than the assumed returns, such excess shall be credited to the subscriber's account.

Features of APY:

(1). Age-based pension:

Both Husband and Wife can join individually with a minimum deposit period for apy is 20 years at the age of joining 40 and a maximum period is 42 years at the subscriber enrollment age is 18 years.

(2). Upgrade/Downgrade:

As per PFRDA guidelines, APY subscribers have an option to upgrade/Downgrade the opted pension amount once in a year during the month of April from July 1st 2020

(3). PRAN card available:

Subscribers getting PRAN card for downloading transaction statement year wise by accessing enps portal.

(4). Shifting Facility:

Subscriber easily migratinng from NPS Lite-Swavalamban to Atal yojana.

(5). Grievance availability:

Apy grievance module is available to lodge a complaint and checking grievance resolution status etc.

(6). Mobile Application:

Apy app facilitates real time viewing of recent contributions and e-PRAN can also be downloaded with free of cost.

(7). SMS alerts:

Messages will be received on each transaction.

(8). Easy Enrollment:

Enrolling in the APY scheme is a simple and hassle-free process.

(9). Auto-Debit:

The contribution is payable by auto deduction from the subscribers aadhar linked savings bank account in three different modes such as monthly, quarterly, or half-yearly depending on the opinion of the subscriber.

Atal Pension Yojana Forms:

All related forms such as registration form, voluntary exit withdrawal form, closure form and more under this scheme are download from here.

What is the procedure for opening Atal Pension Yojana Account?

(1). Eligibility:

All Indian Citizens aged between 18 and 40 years belongs to economically weaker sections of society eligible for opening an Apy account.

(2). Get Account Opening Form:

To collect the Atal Pension Yojana account opening form, visit the Bank Branch where the individual's savings bank account is maintained or where you wish to open a new account and also find on the National Pension system Trust (NPST).

(3). Fill out the Form:

Complete the account opening form with accurate and up-to-date information. Provide details such as your name, age, address, Aadhar number, Mobile number, bank account details and nominee information.

(4). Choose the Pension Amount:

Determine the pension amount you wish to receive in the future based on the fixed monthly pension options available under the scheme. The pension amount vary depending on the contribution and age at the time of joining.

(5). Submit the Form:

Once you have filled out the apy application submit it along with the necessary documents as specified by the bank or post office include proof of address (Aadhar card, utility bills, passport etc), and proof of identity details (Aadhar card, Pan card, Voter ID etc) to the below-mentioned enrollment agencies.

  • All banks, including all nationalised banks, private banks, regional rural banks, co-operative banks or Bank appointed agencies such as Business Correspondents (BCS)| existing non-banking aggregators, Micro Finance Institutions (MFI) will receive apy applications.
  • PFRDA appointed agencies such as all points of presence (service providers) and aggregators.
  • PFRDA or central government specified agencies, such as, the Department of posts under the CBS platform.

(6). Pay the initial contribution:

The first contribution towards the apy account will be deducted from your savings account.

(7). Acknowledgement:

Once you made an initial contribution, take your acknowledgement receipt. This receipt contains all the relevant details of your APY account.

(8). Maintenance:

Maintain sufficient balance for deducting the amount from your savings bank account at the frequency of chosen (monthly, quarterly, half-early).

Bank Fee and Charges for maintaining the APY account:

The below table repregents including cancellation charges also.

IntermediaryServiceCharges
Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA)Account opening chargeRs 15
Annual maintenance cost per accountRs 40
CustodianAssest servicing charges0.0032 % per annum
Pension Fund ChargesInvestment management Fee0.0102 % per annum of AUM
NPS TrustReimbursement of expenses0.005 %
POP and CRAFor increase or decreaseRs 50

Atal Pension Yojana Calculator Chart:

Apy calculator chart is a reliable predictor of future pension plans which delving into how much money is invested in every month at the present age for getting a desirable pension after the retirement stage and also knowing the return policy of the Atal pension yojana to the default nominee.

Minimum Guaranteed
Pension of Rs. 1,000/month		Minimum Guaranteed
Pension of Rs 2,000/month		Minimum Guaranteed
Pension of Rs 3,000/month		Minimum Guaranteed
Pension of Rs 4,000/month		Minimum Guaranteed
Pension of Rs 5,000/month
Return of
Corpus Amount
to the Nominee		Rs 1.7 lakhRs 3.4 lakhRs 5.1 lakhRs 6.8 lakhRs 8.5
Contribution frequencyContribution frequencyContribution frequencyContribution frequencyContribution frequency
Age at entryVesting periodMonthlyQuarterlyHalf yearlyMonthlyQuarterlyHalf yearlyMonthlyQuarterlyHalf yearlyMonthlyQuarterlyHalf yearlyMonthlyQuarterlyHalf yearly
184242125248842504961263767441685019912106261239
1941461372719227454313841181418354510802286791346
2040501492951002985901504478851985901169 2487391464
21395416131910832263716248395621564112692698021588
223859176348117349690177527104623469713812928701723
233764191378127378749192572113325475714993189481877
2436702094131394148202086201228277826163534610312042
253576226449151450891226 6741334301897177637611212219
263482244484164489968 2467331452327975193040912192414
2733902685311785301050268799158235610612101446 13292632
283297289572 194578114529287017233881156229048514452862
293110631662621263212513189481877423 1261249652915773122
30301163466852316881363347103420484621377272757717203405
31 291263767442527511487379112922375041502297463018783718
32281384118142768231629414123424435511642325268920534066
3327151450891302900 1782453135026736021794355375222414438
342616549297433098319484951475292165919643889 82424564863
3525181539106836210792136543161832057222152426190226885323
3624198 590116939611802337594177035067922360467499029505843
37 232186501287436129925736541949386087025935134108732396415
38222407151416480143028337202146424995728525648119635647058
392126478715585281574311679223604674105431416220131839287778
Source: ICICI Bank

What will happen if failed to contribute on the due date?

First date of the every month is the due date for contribution under APY. However 15 days grace period facility is available to make the payment in case you miss the due date otherwise the following charges and things are levied by the bank or post office.

(1). Penalties:

If you miss or delayed the contribution on the due date, the banks have the right to levied and recoverd the pending amount along with overdue interest as and when funds are available in the account as shown below.

Money levied per monthMonthly contribution up to
Rs 1Rs 100
Rs 2Rs 101 to Rs 500
Rs 5Rs 501 to Rs 1000
Rs 10beyond Rs 1001

(2). Frozen:

If a subscriber continuously defaults on his/her contributions greater than six months, the account will be frozen until they reactivate their account.To reactivate the account, the subscriber will have to pay the overdue coontributions along with a penalty account.

(3). Deactivated:

If the subscriber has not paid a penalty for delayed payment in apy continuously for a period of 12 months, their account will be deactivated.

(4). Closed:

It was deeply distressing to the policyholder if defaults continued for up to 24 months because only the remaining amount will be received after deducting various kinds of fees from the subscriber's account such as collecting amount maintenance charges, overdue interest, and accumulated corpus made by the government co-contribution while the accured interest will not be refundable that haul of the money would be given back to the government.

How to Withdraw Atal Pension Yojana Account?

This automatic contribution mechanism simplifies both contribution from the age of entry as well as the exit and withdrawal process. However, procedure is in two types. One is the completion of 60 years and the other one is close the apy account before the maturity period. Let's dive into the details:

(1). Completion of 60 years:

(a). Superannuation:

On attaining the age of 60 years the subscribers will be entitled to draw the guaranteed minimum monthly pension after submitting the claim request to the bank under atal pension. If the subscriber death, the same amount of monthly pension will be payable to the spouse. Upon the death of both the subscriber and spouse, the nominee will get accumulated wealth only.

(b). In case of death of the subscriber after the age of 60 years:

If the subscriber dies after the age of 60 years, the pension would be transferred on the name of the spouse and on the death of both of them, the pension wealth accumulated would be returned to the nominee.

(2). Processing of premature exit requests:

(a). Exit due to illness:

Though voluntary participation rules are not permitted to exit before 60 years of age except in the event of the death of beneficiary or terminal disease. In this scenario, accumulated corpus such as subscriber contribution, government contribution and the returns will be returned to the subscriber account.

(b). Voluntary exit:

If the person chooses to voluntarily exit apy at a future date, he or she shall received contributions made by himm/her only after deducting the account maintenance charges while forfeited availed government co-contribution.

(c). Death of subscriber before 60 years:

In this case, two options are provided.

  1. Life of the spouse does not overturned in case they have lost his/her benefactor so early, which can be maintained in the spouse's name with contributing the same amount opted by the deceased subscriber, for the remaining vesting period, up to the original subscriber age turned 60 years. The spouse received a pension when the deceased subscriber age reached 60 years.
  2. This is hit the right path of subscriber followers due to corpus will be settled in the name of the spouse if he or she is not willing to continue this scheme. On the other hand, beneficiary is not married, divorced, legally separated or the spouse has expired, then the corpus will be settled in the name of the nominee after submitting the death claim.

Required Documents for Withdrawl Money?

  • Bank Branch officials scrutinize the correct account closure form for voluntary exit and the case of spouse continuation form
  • You should submit medical reports if any illness
  • If the claimant other than spouse/nominee should submit a legal heir certificate or a family member's certificate which is indicating the relationship of the claimant with the subscriber.
  • Death certificate of the subscriber
  • Active Bank Passbook

How to know the status of APY contribution?

Atal pension yojana statement status checking is available in below methods to avoid penalty charges and knowing currrent credited money and also useful for getting Income Tax benefits when you file IT returns at the end of the financial year and also showing that missing subscription to regularize your apy account while easily knowing that whether your apy account is active or not. Follow the steps below:

First Method:

  • Go to the NSDL e-Gov portal
  • ↓
  • Click on the "Apy e-PRAN/Transaction statement view" button
  • ↓
  • Then search with PRAN or without PRAN
  • ↓
  • If you select "with PRAN", enter your 12 digit PRAN along with your bank account number
  • ↓
  • If you don't have PRAN, then select the "without PRAN" option and enter your name, bank details and Date of Birth

Second Method:

In this way download APY and NPS Lite mobile app from Google Play Store. You can utilize this option only if you have PRAN details.

Third Method:

The Person who joins this scheme gets a statement in offline mode through SMS alerts to their registered mobile number and E-mail, and also getting a physical statement once a financial year at their registered address.

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