Atal Pension Yojana 2023: A Comprehensive Guide

Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is a government-backed pension scheme for the unorganized sector workers in India. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1st June 2015 as a replacement of the previous Swavalamban Yojana. The main objective of APY is to provide a minimum guaranteed monthly pension of Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000 to the subscribers after attaining the age of 60 years. The scheme also provides a co-contribution by the government of 50% of the subscriber’s contribution or Rs. 1,000 per annum, whichever is lower, for a period of 5 years.

In this blog, we will cover the following topics related to APY:

• Eligibility criteria and benefits of APY
• Contribution and withdrawal process of APY
• Default and penalty charges of APY
• Investment and funding of APY
• Subscriber information and alerts of APY
• Enrollment and payment of APY
• Enrollment agency and service provider of APY
• Important instructions and facts of APY
• Required documents and forms of APY
• How to apply online for APY
• How to view and download APY contribution chart, endowment details, transaction statement, etc.

• How to contact and get information from service provider
• How to pay through UPI for APY

Information about Atal Pension Yojana 2023

Scheme Name	Atal Pension Yojana
Launched in	Year 2015
Started by	Central Government
Beneficiaries	People of the unorganized sectors of the country
Objective	To provide pension

Eligibility Criteria and Benefits of APY

The eligibility criteria for joining APY are as follows:

• The subscriber should be a citizen of India.
• The subscriber should be between 18 to 40 years of age.
• The subscriber should have a savings bank account or a post office savings bank account.
• The subscriber should not be covered under any other statutory social security scheme or income tax payer.

The benefits of APY are as follows:

• The subscriber will receive a fixed monthly pension of Rs. 1,000, Rs. 2,000, Rs. 3,000, Rs. 4,000 or Rs. 5,000 depending on his/her contribution and age of entry.
• The pension will start from the age of 60 years and will continue till the death of the subscriber.
• In case of death of the subscriber before 60 years, the spouse will be eligible to continue the account with the same contribution or exit the scheme with the accumulated corpus.
• In case of death of both the subscriber and the spouse, the nominee will receive the accumulated corpus.
• The government will co-contribute 50% of the subscriber’s contribution or Rs. 1,000 per annum, whichever is lower, for a period of 5 years from 2015-16 to 2019-20.
• The subscriber will get tax benefits under section 80CCD(1) and section 80CCD(1B) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Investment made under Atal Pension Yojana

Under this scheme, if a person saves 7 rupees daily and invests 210 rupees per month, he can get a pension of up to 60 thousand rupees annually. This investment will have to be done by the person from the age of 18 years. The special thing about this scheme is that under section 80 of the Income Tax Act, one also gets the benefit of tax exemption on investing in it. This scheme is being run by the [Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority] (PFRDA) through the [National Pension Scheme] (NPS).

Contribution and Withdrawal Process of APY

The contribution process of APY is as follows:

• The subscriber has to choose a monthly pension amount from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000 and accordingly pay a monthly contribution amount based on his/her age and pension amount.
• The contribution amount can be paid on a monthly, quarterly or half-yearly basis through auto-debit from the savings bank account or post office savings bank account.
• The contribution amount will increase with the increase in age as per the contribution chart given below.
• 

Age of entry	Years of contribution	First Monthly pension of Rs.1000/-	Second Monthly pension of Rs.2000/-	Third Monthly pension of Rs.3000/-	Fourth Monthly pension of Rs.4000/-	Fifth Monthly pension of Rs.5000/-
18	42	42	84	126	168	210
19	41	46	92	138	183	224
20	40	50	100	150	198	248
21	39	54	108	162	215	269
22	38	59	117	177	234	292
23	37	64	127	192	254	318
24	36	70	139	208	277	346
25	35	76	151	226	301	376
26	34	82	164	246	327	409
27	33	90	178	268	356	446
28	32	97	194	292	388	485
29	31	106	212	318	423	529
30	30	116	231	347	462	577
31	29	126	252	379	504	630
32	28	138	276	414	551	689
33	27	151	302	453	602	752
34	26	165	330	495	659	824
35	25	181	362	543	722	902
36	24	198	396	594	792	990
37	23	218	436	654	870	1087
38	22	240	480	720	957	1196
39	21	264	528	792	1054	1318
40	20	291	582	873	1164	1454

Investment and Funding of APY

The investment and funding of APY are as follows:

• The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) will invest the contribution amount collected from the subscribers in various schemes as per the investment guidelines issued by the government.
• The government will co-contribute 50% of the subscriber’s contribution or Rs.1000 per annum, whichever is lower, for a period of five years from 2015-16 to 2019-20.
• The co-contribution amount will be credited to the subscriber’s account by PFRDA after receiving it from the government.
• The co-contribution amount will also be invested by PFRDA in various schemes as per the investment guidelines issued by the government.

Subscriber Information and Alerts of APY

The subscriber information and alerts of APY are as follows:

• The subscriber will receive SMS alerts on his/her registered mobile number regarding his/her account balance, contribution credit, etc.
• The subscriber can also change his/her non-financial details such as nominee name, address, phone number, etc. through SMS alerts.
• The subscriber can access his/her account information, contribution details, transaction statement, etc. through online portal or mobile app or toll-free number or service provider.
• The subscriber will also receive a physical annual statement of his/her account by post.

Enrollment and Payment of APY

The enrollment and payment of APY are as follows:

• The subscriber has to fill an APY registration form and submit it to the bank or post office where he/she has a savings bank account or post office savings bank account.

• The subscriber has to provide his/her Aadhaar number, mobile number, nominee details, pension amount choice, etc. in the form.
• The subscriber has to also provide a consent letter for auto-debit of the contribution amount from his/her account every month.
• The subscriber will receive an acknowledgement receipt with a unique Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) after the enrollment process is completed.
• The subscriber can pay the contribution amount on a monthly, quarterly or half-yearly basis through auto-debit from his/her account.
• The subscriber can also pay the contribution amount through UPI by following the steps given below:
  • Visit the official website of National Pension System (NPS).
  • Enter your PAN number.
  • Enter the OTP received on your registered mobile number and email.
  • Select NPS Tier 1 or 2 option.
  • Select Virtual Account (VA) option.
  • Your bank application will be sent and you will receive an acknowledgement number.
  • Select UPI payment option.
  • Enter your virtual account number and UPI ID.
  • Enter your UPI PIN and make the payment.

Atal Pension Yojana withdrawal

• After attaining the age of 60 years: After completing 60 years of age, the subscriber can withdraw from Atal Pension Yojana. In this situation, the subscriber will be provided with a pension after withdrawal.
• In case of death of the subscriber: If the subscriber dies, the pension amount will be given to the spouse of the subscriber. And if both die, the pension corpus will be returned to their nominee.
• Withdrawal before the age of 60 years: There is no permission to withdraw from Atal Pension Yojana before the age of 60 years. But in some exceptional circumstances, permission has been given by the department. Such as if the beneficiary dies or in case of any terminal illness.

Atal Pension Yojana default charges

• For contribution up to ₹100 per month: ₹1
• For contribution from ₹101 to ₹500 per month: ₹2
• For contribution from ₹501 to ₹1000 per month: ₹5
• For contribution above ₹1000 per month: ₹10

These charges are levied by the bank if the subscriber fails to pay the monthly contribution on time. The bank can also freeze or close the account if the default persists for a long time. Therefore, it is advisable to pay the contribution regularly and avoid any penalty.

How to open an account under Atal Pension Yojana without mobile app or net banking

Those people who have a bank account but are not using net banking or mobile app can soon open an account under [Atal Pension Yojana], a government-backed pension scheme for unorganized sector workers. Soon, the [Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority] (PFRDA) will simplify the onboarding process, which will allow existing savings account holders to start an alternative channel for onboarding. Through this channel, account holders can now open their account under Atal Pension Yojana without mobile app or net banking.

Earlier, an account under Atal Pension Yojana could only be opened through mobile app or net banking. But now, due to this new step, account holders can open their account without mobile app or net banking. If you want to open an account under Atal Pension Yojana, you will have to contact the bank where you have a savings account. From there you will get a registration form. After that, you will have to fill in all the information asked in the registration form and attach all the important documents with the registration form and submit this registration form to the same bank. You will also have to give a valid phone number with the form on which you will receive all the SMS.

Form Title	Link
APY Subscriber Registration Form	Click Here
APY Subscriber Registration Form – Swavalamban Yojana Subscribers	Click Here
Subscriber details Modification and Change of APY-SP Form	Click Here
Form to upgrade / downgrade pension amount under APY	Click Here
APY Death & Spouse Continuation Form	Click Here
Voluntary Exit APY Withdrawal Form	Click Here
APY Application for Banks to be registered under Atal Pension Yojana	Click Here
APY – Service Provider Registration Form	Click Here
Subscriber Grievance Registration(G1) Form for APY Subscriber	Click Here

For more information about the Atal Pension Yojana, you can visit the official website: Atal Pension Yojana.