Atal Pension Scheme (Atal Pension Yojana), How to enroll in APY

Atal Pension Yojana (APY) or Central Govt Pension Scheme is a government-run pension scheme focused on unorganised sector workers which enables subscribers to earn a fixed monthly pension to the tune of ₹ 1,000-5,000 upon attaining retirement.

The Atal Pension scheme is a Social Security Welfare Scheme and it is available at India Post branches supporting core-banking solutions. The scheme is available to those between 18 and 40 years of age at the time of subscription.

A pre-defined amount is deducted from the bank account of a subscriber as contribution to the retirement corpus under the Atal Pension scheme. The amount of contribution varies depending upon factors such as the subscriber’s age and the choice of monthly pension.

APY is a deferred pension scheme which means that one needs to keep contributing regularly till age 60 and, thereafter, a fixed amount of monthly pension will begin. This social security scheme was launched to provide them with a defined pension between Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000, depending on the contribution and its period.

Central Govt Pension Scheme, Invest Rs 7 per day to get Rs 60,000 pension and tax benefits. Atal Pension Yojana (APY) and National Pension System (NPS) are the two pension plans many of us invest in to save towards retirement.

What makes them a true-to-label pension plan is the provision of lifetime annuity after opening an APY or NPS account. Both NPS and APY are deferred pension plans, which means one needs to keep saving for a specific tenure before getting a regular pension. Further, both APY and NPS are regulated by PFRDA as far as its rules and guidelines are concerned.

A Pension provides a monthly income to the people during their unproductive years. The returns in APY is around 8 per cent and is fixed for the APY subscriber, however, returns in NPS are linked to the performance of the underlying assets such as equity and debt.

Atal Pension Yojana offers a guaranteed rate of 8 per cent assured return for the subscribers and also the opportunity of higher earnings in case the rate of return is higher than 8 per cent at the time of maturity.

In the case of APY, there is a fixed pension amount depending on the amount you save on a regular basis. APY returns are assured and fixed but it comes with an investment cap and also has a cap on the pension amount. In NPS, the pension amount will depend on the amount used to buy annuity from the life insurance company.

APY Details

Private sector employees, especially blue-collar workers, are worried about their retirement as most of them do not invest in any retirement schemes due to lower income.

Worth mentioning here is that these private-sector employees can also secure their retirement by investing an amount as low as Rs 7 per month in a central government backed pension scheme. 

Known as APY, this is a pension scheme run by the government of India and is operated by the pension fund regulator Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

For people looking to receive a guaranteed fixed amount as pension after their retirement, APY is an attractive option. The pension scheme was launched by the government in 2015 to provide income security in old age to people in the unorganized sector.

Need for Pension:

• Decreased income earning potential with age.
• The rise of nuclear Family
• Migration of earning members.
• Rise in cost of living.
• Increased longevity.
• Dignified life in the old age due to less financial dependence.

What are the benefits of joining Atal Pension Scheme?

The benefit of minimum pension under Atal Pension Yojana would be guaranteed by the Government in the sense that if the actual realized returns on the pension contributions are less than the assumed returns for minimum guaranteed pension, over the period of contribution, such shortfall shall be funded by the Government.

On the other hand, if the actual returns on the pension contributions are higher than the assumed returns for minimum guaranteed pension, over the period of contribution, such enhanced scheme benefits shall be passed on to the subscribers.

The Government of India had co-contributed 50% of the total contribution or Rs. 1000 per annum, whichever is lower, to each eligible subscriber, who joined the scheme during the period 1st June, 2015 to 31st March, 2016 and who is not a beneficiary of any social security scheme and is not an income tax payer.

The Government co-contribution will be given for 5 years from the Financial Year 2015-16 to the Financial Year 2019-20

Eligibility: Workers in the age group of 18-40 years can enroll in the Atal Pension scheme. The applicant needs to have a savings account, in a bank or a post office. Each subscriber can only have one Atal Pension account.

Pension Amount: Currently, the Atal Pension Scheme provides five fixed monthly pension options: ₹ 1,000, ₹ 2,000, ₹ 3,000, ₹ 4,000 and ₹ 5,000.

Contribution: The amount selected at the time of registration is deducted from the subscriber’s account on a monthly, quarterly or half-yearly basis. The amount varies from ₹ 42 and ₹ 1,454 per month. The first instalment is deducted from the subscriber’s savings account at the time of registration.

Mode Of Payment: The contributions are paid at chosen intervals – monthly, quarterly or half yearly – through auto debits from the linked savings account.

Guaranteed Minimum Pension: The Atal Pension scheme guarantees a minimum pension, which means that the government covers any shortfall in the the actual realised returns in comparison to assumed returns over the period of contribution. On the other hand, any higher returns are paid to the subscriber.

How To Operate Atal Pension Scheme Account: After successful registration, the subscriber only has to maintain the instalment amount in the linked savings account on the due dates to ensure operability.

Delayed Contribution: In case a subscriber does not have sufficient funds in the savings account on the due date, the APY scheme provides an option to pay a delayed instalment along with overdue interest. The contribution is paid the next month along with overdue interest, which is ₹ 1 per month for every ₹ 100 for each delayed monthly contribution.

Continuous Default: In case of continuous default, account maintenance charges and other related charges are deducted from the Atal Pension account on a periodic basis. Once the account balance in the corpus reaches zero, the account is closed immediately.

Flexibility: It is possible to switch to a lower or higher amount of monthly contribution under certain circumstances. This window is available only once a year, in the month of April.

Tax benefits: Investment in APY qualifies for deduction under section 80CCD (1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The maximum amount that can be deducted from taxable income under this scheme is Rs 2 lakh in the financial year. Also, the combined deduction under Section 80C and Section 80CCD cannot exceed Rs 2 lakh.

Guaranteed pension: The pension amount is a fixed amount that the subscriber is assured to receive from age of 60. However, the actual returns generated by the government may vary.

As per the rules, if the accumulated corpus based on contributions earns a lower than estimated return and is inadequate to provide the minimum guaranteed pension, the central government would fund such inadequacy.

Alternatively, if the actual returns during the accumulation phase are higher than the assumed returns for minimum guaranteed pension, the excess will be passed on to the subscriber.

APY calculator: The NPS Trust website has the APY calculator to help one calculate the tentative pension and lump Sum amount to expect on maturity or 60 years of age based on regular contributions.

Amount Of Contribution

The contribution amount varies for subscribers of different age groups. Here’s a list mentioning indicative monthly contributions required by different age groups:

FAQs on APY