Who is Eligible for Atal Pension Yojana?

Formerly known as Swavalamban Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana is a government-backed pension scheme for citizens of India. The APY initiative was launched to create a universal social security system and is focused on the Indian unorganised sector workers. The APY scheme was regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). The Yojana was mentioned in the 2015 budget year speech by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. In 2015, on May 9, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Atal Pension Yojana in Kolkata. As a part of the Yojana, a subscriber can make contributions in their respective APY account till the age of 60 years and then get a monthly pension.

Now that you know about the APY scheme, the question arises who can subscribe to APY? Let us find out!  
As per the government guidelines, any citizen of India can avail of the benefits of the APY scheme. The eligibility criteria for the same are as follows: 

• The age of the subscriber should be between 18 to 40 years. 

• The subscriber should have a savings bank account or a post office savings bank account. 

• The subscriber should provide Aadhar and mobile numbers to the bank during the registration to facilitate receipt of periodic updates on the APY account.  

The government has provided a simple structure to the Atal Pension Yojana, which makes it easy to understand for people who want to open an account under the scheme. Also, all major banks offer the government-introduced scheme to their customers, which makes it easily accessible to anyone and everyone. 

The procedure to open the account: 
 
1. Contact the bank branch/post office where your savings bank account is held or open new savings account if you don’t have one. 

2. Provide the necessary details and with the help of the bank staff, fill up the APY registration form. 

3. Provide your Aadhaar or mobile number.

4. Ensure keeping the required contribution balance in the account in order to perform the transfer of monthly or quarterly or half-yearly contributions.  

The APY scheme provides a guaranteed minimum pension of Rs 1,000/- or 2,000/- or 3,000/- or 4,000 or 5,000/- per month to the senior citizens of India, that is at the age of 60 years. The pension completely depends on the contributions invested by the subscribers.

The contributions under the scheme are invested as per the investment guidelines prescribed by PFRDA for the Central Government / State Government / NPS-Lite / Swavalamban Scheme / APY.  

According to financial experts, Atal Pension Yojana is one of the most beneficial social security schemes introduced by the Indian government. It is simply because the scheme guarantees a minimum pension sum to meet the expenses of its subscribers once they turn 60. Let’s now count on some benefits of the scheme: 

1. Death Benefits: The death benefits under Atal Pension Yojana accrue to the spouse of the contributor. After the death of the primary subscriber, the pension automatically shifts to the spouse of the contributor. 

 In case there is a death of both, the contributor and the spouse, the nominee will get the predefined corpus amount for the particular pension slab. Also, in case of the death of the contributor before the age of 60 years, the default nominee, that is, the spouse will have an option to continue with the Atal Pension Yojana account and receive benefits under the same. The spouse can also close the account and collect the invested contribution and the gains on it.  

    2. Retirement Benefits: The major benefit of the Atal Pension Yojana is the retirement benefit. However, the retirement benefit or the monthly pension will completely depend on the contributions made.  
 

     3. Tax Benefits: In order to encourage people to invest in the APY scheme, the government is providing tax benefits on the contributions made to the Yojana. The APY scheme tax benefits can be availed under Section 80CCD (1B), to the tune of Rs. 50,000 over and above the 1.5 lakhs.  
 
In conclusion, if you want an assured pension after the age of 60 years, you should consider the Atal Pension Yojana.