Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is a government of India initiative to protect the interests of the employees in the unorganized sectors. This social security measure provides a pension to the subscribers when they turn 60. Pension benefits continue after the subscriber’s demise for the spouse, and the nominee receives the accumulated corpus after both are no more. The scheme’s administration is vested with the PFRDAI (Pension Fund Regulator and Development Authority of India), delivering a guaranteed pension after retirement.
The scheme delivers old-age pensions to the hitherto uncovered employees in India’s vast unorganized sector. However, from June 2015 onwards, nearly 88% of the 47.29 Cr among the large labor force are eligible to subscribe to the scheme. Accordingly, you can opt to subscribe to a fixed pension of Rs.1000, Rs. 2000, Rs.3000, Rs.4000, and Rs.5000 against a monthly contribution through a bank account. In addition, the government of India contributes a share of the corpus for the benefit of the subscribers.
Atal Pension Yojana – Premium Chart:
The tables below indicate the monthly premium you need to contribute to earning the target pension upon exit. The monthly premium depends on the entry age and the target pension, factoring in the number of years you can contribute. Most importantly, note that the subscriber and spouse earn the monthly pension income, while the nominee receives the accumulated corpus in their absence.
Table 1: The grid depicts the monthly premium when the target pension is Rs.1000, with the final corpus payable to the nominee.
Joining age*
Maximum Term*
Premium (Rs)#
Pension (Rs.)@
Corpus (Rs)$
18
42
42
1000
1.7 Lac
20
40
50
1000
1.7 Lac
25
35
76
1000
1.7 Lac
30
30
116
1000
1.7 Lac
35
25
181
1000
1.7 Lac
40
20
291
1000
1.7 Lac
Legend:
*
In Years
#
Per month
@
Per month payable to the subscriber and the spouse
$
Payable to the nominee
Table 2: The grid depicts the monthly premium when the target pension is Rs.2000, with the final corpus payable to the nominee.
Joining age*
Maximum Term*
Premium (Rs)#
Pension (Rs.)@
Corpus (Rs)$
18
42
84
2000
3.4 Lac
20
40
100
2000
3.4 Lac
25
35
151
2000
3.4 Lac
30
30
232
2000
3.4 Lac
35
25
362
2000
3.4 Lac
40
20
582
2000
3.4 Lac
Legend:
*
In Years
#
Per month
@
Per month payable to the subscriber and the spouse
$
Payable to the nominee
Table 3: The grid depicts the monthly premium when the target pension is Rs.3000, with the final corpus payable to the nominee.
Joining age*
Maximum Term*
Premium (Rs)#
Pension (Rs.)@
Corpus (Rs)$
18
42
126
3000
5.1 Lac
20
40
150
3000
5.1 Lac
25
35
226
3000
5.1 Lac
30
30
347
3000
5.1 Lac
35
25
543
3000
5.1 Lac
40
20
873
3000
5.1 Lac
Legend:
*
In Years
#
Per month
@
Per month payable to the subscriber and the spouse
$
Payable to the nominee
Table 4: The grid depicts the monthly premium when the target pension is Rs.4000, with the final corpus payable to the nominee.
Joining age*
Maximum Term*
Premium (Rs)#
Pension (Rs.)@
Corpus (Rs)$
18
42
168
4000
6.8 Lac
20
40
198
4000
6.8 Lac
25
35
301
4000
6.8 Lac
30
30
462
4000
6.8 Lac
35
25
722
4000
6.8 Lac
40
20
1164
4000
6.8 Lac
Legend:
*
In Years
#
Per month
@
Per month payable to the subscriber and the spouse
$
Payable to the nominee
Table 5: The grid depicts the monthly premium when the target pension is Rs.5000, with the final corpus payable to the nominee.
Joining age*
Maximum Term*
Premium (Rs)#
Pension (Rs.)@
Corpus (Rs)$
18
42
210
5000
8.5 Lac
20
40
248
5000
8.5 Lac
25
35
376
5000
8.5 Lac
30
30
577
5000
8.5 Lac
35
25
902
5000
8.5 Lac
40
20
1454
5000
8.5 Lac
Legend:
*
In Years
#
Per month
@
Per month payable to the subscriber and the spouse
All the Swabalamban Yojana Point of Presence (Service Providers) and aggregators shall enroll APY subscribers. In addition, banks are the authorized agencies for dispensing the scheme under the NPS architecture.
Atal Pension Yojana – How to Enroll?
You can enroll for APY by submitting the application form to any bank where you hold a KYC-compliant account. You can download the form and carry a self-attested Aadhaar card copy as the primary enrolment document. Check the following for a successful subscription.
Authorize the bank to directly debit your account in monthly, quarterly, and half-yearly frequencies.
The due auto-debit depends on the date of enrollment and the first day or any other day of the calendar month.
Several banks like SBI, Axis, and ICICI allow online enrolment to the APY subscribers.
Atal Pension Yojana – Migration of Swavlamban Subscribers:
If eligible, all existing Swavabalamban subscribers can migrate to the APY by default. However, they have an option for opting out. So, check out the following rules.
Since the government’s contribution to APY continues for 5-years, migrant subscribers will enjoy the facility for the residual period only. For example, if the benefit received is 1-year earlier, the APY benefit continues for another 4-years.
However, Swavabalamban migrants opting out will receive the benefit until 2016-17.
Swabalamban subscribers beyond 40 years can exit the scheme and receive the corpus in a lump sum. On the other hand, they can continue up to 60 years to enjoy the benefit of annuities.
Atal Pension Yojana – Penalty for Default:
The default contribution under the APY for individual subscribers is monthly. However, banks collect an additional amount if the account holder fails to maintain a sufficient balance for the auto-debit. The additional amount recovered on account of default varies from Rs.1 to Rs. 10 per the grid below.
Contribution Amount (Rs) per Month
Penalty (Rs) per Month
Up to 100
1
101 to 500
2
501 to 1000
5
Beyond 1001
10
The fixed penalty amount remains a part of the pension corpus.
On the other hand, discontinuation of payment leads to the following outcome.
Discontinuation Duration
Outcome
After 6-months
Account is Frozen
After 12-months
Account is deactivated
After 24-months
Account is closed
In Conclusion:
The Atal Pension Yojana reveals the government’s concern toward the workers in the unorganized sector, the significant component of the Indian labor force. It ensures their financial stability in old age with a fixed pension of up to Rs.5000 per month. In addition, the spouse enjoys the same benefit in the subscriber’s absence, while the nominee earns the legacy of the accumulated corpus in a lump sum.
A: Investment of contributions under APY is according to guidelines formulated by the Government and PFRDA, and the subscriber has no role to play.
Does the subscriber get any statement of transactions under APY?
A: The subscriber gets the annual statement of transaction in the APY account at the registered address.
Is there any limit to opening an APY account?
A: An adult individual can open only one APY account. In addition, minor accounts are not allowed.
Is there any option to change the financial parameters in the APY account?
A: Yes, you can change the monthly contribution and increase or decrease the target pension in your APY account, subject to the following conditions.
Increase or decrease the pension amount during the accumulation phase once a financial year.
You pay 8% per annum of the differential on a monthly compounding basis for an upgrade.
On the contrary, you get a refund of the differential due to the downgrade.
The upgrade fee is Rs.50.
How does the subscriber know the status of contribution to APY?
A: The subscriber gets SMS alerts for all activities and transactions in the APY account.
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