ATAL PENSION YOJANA (APY)

Why in News?
Atal Pension Yojana completed 10 years.

Features:

• Ministry: Ministry of Finance
• Launched in: 2015
• Implementing agency: Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) under the National Pension System (NPS).
• Type: Central Sector Scheme
• Eligibility:
  APY is open to all bank account holders in the age group of 18 to 40

      years who are not income tax payers.
      All eligible family members can join scheme.

Benefits:

• Guaranteed Monthly Pension: Lifelong pension between ₹1,000 to ₹5,000 from age 60 until death.
• Family Pension Provision: In case of death of subscriber, spouse receives the pension; nominee gets corpus.
• Premature death of the subscriber (before 60 years of age): Spouse can continue contribution to APY account.

Payment:

Subscribers can make contributions to APY on monthly/ quarterly / half-yearly basis. Depending upon the intended/desired monthly pension and the age of subscriber at entry.

Exit and Withdrawal Options:

• Exit at age 60: Full pension begins.
• Exit before age 60: Permitted only in cases of death or terminal illness.
• Voluntary Exit: Allowed, but the subscriber only receives the contribution made (with interest) and government co contribution (if any) is forfeited.

Government Co-contribution (for Early Joiners):

• For eligible subscribers who joined between 1 June 2015 and 31 March 2016 (The scheme is continued but without Government Co-contribution).
• The government co-contributed 50% of the total contribution or ₹1,000 per annum (whichever is lower) for 5 years.
• This applied only to subscribers not covered under any statutory social security scheme and not income taxpayers at the time.

Achievements in ten years:

• Females constitute around 47% of total subscribers enrolled under Scheme
• As on April 2025, more than 7.66 crore individuals have subscribed to the scheme.

Objectives:       

• To encourage voluntary savings for retirement by offering defined pension benefits, linked to the age of joining and amount of contribution.
• To create a universal social security system for all, especially the poor, under-privileged and workers in the unorganized sector.
• To provide financial security in old age