Atal Pension Yojana (APY) - 2026

• The main objective of this scheme is to give Indian citizens a sense of security by ensuring that they are not concerned about unexpected illness, accidents, or chronic illnesses in their old age.
• Employees in the private sector and those working for organisations that do not offer pension benefits are also eligible to apply, so it is not just the unorganised sector. 

Atal Pension Yojana Information

Objectives of Atal Pension Yojana

The main objective of the Atal Pension Yojana can be summed up as follows:

• Provision of security and protection of citizens against illness, accidents, diseases, and so on.
• This scheme is mainly aimed at the unorganized sector in the country.
• Under the APY, will receive monthly payments from their accrued corpus. If a beneficiary passes away, the pension payments will be made to their spouse. In the event of both the beneficiary and their spouse’s death, a lump sum payment will be made to the nominee.
  

Benefits of Atal Pension Yojana

The benefits of Atal Pension Yojana are as follows:  

• Provides financial security against illness, accidents, and other risks for unorganised sector workers. 

• Backed by the Government of India, ensuring low investment risk. 

• Accessible to Indian residents, including self-employed and salaried individuals. 

• Offers guaranteed monthly pensions of Rs.1000 to Rs.5000, based on contributions. 

• Monthly pension continues to spouse upon beneficiary’s death; a lump sum is paid to the nominee if both beneficiary and spouse pass away. 

• Tax benefits on contributions under Section 80CCD (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 

• Flexible contribution options: monthly, quarterly, or half-yearly. 

• Subscription available for workers in both organised and unorganised sectors. 

• Allows adjustment of pension amount (upgrade or downgrade) as per subscriber choice. 

• Eligible for individuals with other private or government pension schemes. 

Atal Pension Yojana Eligibility

• Indian citizen aged 18 to 40 years. 

• Active mobile number and bank account linked to Aadhaar. 

• Complete 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) requirements. 

• No existing APY account. 

• Minimum contribution period of 20 years. 

• Ineligible for other social welfare programmes. 

• Swavalamban Scheme beneficiaries are eligible and transferred to APY.

Registration and Login of APY Account

• You can register to Atal Pension Yojana account through any banks in India 
• Any Indian banks can assist you to register for APY via NSDL or Karvy 
• you will be provided a PRAN (Permanent Retirement Account Number) after completing your registration 
• You will need PRAN and applicable APY account password to log into your APY account 
• You can also log into your APY account using your PRAN and account number via NSDL portal

How to Open an Atal Pension Yojana Account?

The following are the steps to open an Atal Pension Yojana Account:  

Step 1: Visit your local bank branch, and submit dully filled PAY registration form  

Provide the required details, such as bank account number, Aadhaar, mobile number.:

Step 2: At the time of account opening, the first contribution amount will be deducted from your linked bank account  

Step 3: Acknowledgment Number or PRAN Number will be issued by the bank and further contributions will be done automatically from your bank account 

How to Download the APY Form?

You can avail the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) account opening form by using any one of the following methods:

• You can collect the form from any nearby branch office of any participant bank.
• You can download and get a print of the form from the official websites of the participant banks, provided they have the facility for the same.
• You can download the APY account opening form from the official website of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

How to Fill the Atal Pension Yojana Form?

Once you have procured the form for the Atal Pension Yojana Scheme, filling it is simple.

Step 1: Addressing the form

You have to address the form to the Branch Manager. You can find out the name of your Branch Manager by calling or visiting the bank. Enter your bank name and branch.

Step 2: Bank details

Fill the form in BLOCK letters. First, you are required to provide your bank details. Enter your bank account number, bank name and bank branch. This field is compulsory.

Step 3: Personal details

• Tick the box that is applicable that indicates whether you are 'Shri', 'Smt' or 'Kumari'. Tick 'Shri' if you are a male applicant. Tick 'Smt' if you are a married female applicant. Tick 'Kumari' if you are a single female applicant.
• Married applicants must enter their spouse's name.
• Enter your full name, date of birth, and age.
• Provide your mobile number, email address and Aadhaar number.
• You can then nominate someone and state their relationship to you. A nominee will receive your contribution in case of your death.
• If the nominee is a minor, you need to provide their date of birth and guardian's name.
• You must also state if the nominee has any other statutory social security schemes and if they are income taxpayers.

Step 4: Pension details 

You can contribute towards your pension, between Rs.1,000 and Rs.5,000 with options in the form as Rs.1,000, Rs.2,000, Rs.3,000, Rs.4,000, and Rs.5,000. The box below titled; 'Contribution Amount (Monthly)' is to be left blank as the bank will fill that in after calculating the amount you have to pay every month to receive the pension.

The calculation will be based on your entry age. For example, for a pension of Rs.2,000, if your entry age is 25 years, you will have to pay Rs.151 per month.

Step 5: Declaration and Authorisation

You need to fill in the date and place. You can either sign the document or put a thumb impression. By signing the document, you declare that you meet the Atal Pension Yojana eligibility criteria, and that you have read and understood the terms and conditions of the scheme. You declare that all the information you have written is correct as far as you know. If any changes have to be made to the information provided, you will contact the bank immediately. You also declare that you do not have any account under NPS (National Pension System). You will be held liable for any false or incorrect information knowingly provided.

Step 6: To be filled in by the bank

The last section of the Atal Pension Scheme form, titled 'Acknowledgement - Subscriber Registration for Atal Pension Yojana (APY)' is to be filled in by the bank. It is an acknowledgement from the bank that they will subscribe to the Atal Pension Yojana Scheme for you. After you submit the form, the bank agent will fill it out.

How to Contribute in APY Account?

The following are ways to contribute to APY account: 

• You need to provide auto-debit instruction by providing savings bank account details, your mobile number and authorization letter to the bank 
• Contributions can be done either monthly, quarterly, or half-yearly 
• Due date of the contribution will be based on the first date of contribution made 
• for scheduled transfer of money to APY scheme, the linked account should have sufficient fund 
• To avoid future disputes of rights and entitlements of pension and corpus, Aadhar must be submitted as the primary document for KYC (Know Your Customer) to identify subscriber, spouse, and nominee.

Can you change your APY Pension Payout?

Here are the following details regarding the APY Pension payout: 

• The pension amount can be changed during the contribution made once a year in the month of April 
• Upgrading or downgrading of the APY account can be done by paying an amount of Rs.25 to the bank 
• The differential amount is credited directly to the account linked with APY scheme in case of downgrade of pension 
• Long term commitment of the subscriber is vital as subscription should be made for at least for 20 years 

What happens if You Fail to Contribute to APY? 

The following are the consequences of failing to make regular contributions to the pension scheme: 

• After 12 months of non-payment of APY contribution, APY account gets deactivated 
• After six months of non-payment of APY contributions, the APY accounts gets frozen 
• After 24 months of non-payment of APY contributions, the APY account gets closed automatically 
• The due amount can be recovered by the fund anytime if there is fund available in APY-linked bank account 
• Mobile alerts are sent to the registered mobile number of the subscriber to prevent late payment 

How is APY Money Invested?

The following is the details as to how investment is made to APY scheme: 

• Government Securities: Minimum and maximum contribution is 45% and 50%, respectively 
• Debt Securities and term deposits of banks: Minimum and maximum contribution is 35% and 45%, respectively 
• Equity and related instrument: Minimum and maximum contribution is 5.00% and 15%, respectively 
• Asset Backed Securities etc.: Maximum contribution is 5.00% 
• Money Market Instruments: Maximum contribution is 5.00% 

Note: 

• Investment detail does not matter much in APY compared to NPS as it offers guaranteed benefits 
• Investment returns is considered only when returns generated exceed the guaranteed pension amount 
• In case of death of the subscriber, higher pension amount or higher return of corpus is paid to the nominees

Atal Pension Yojana Calculation

Here are the following details regarding to Atal Pension Yojana calculation: 

• The calculation of APY is based on amount of pension the applicant wants to receive and the age of enrollment of the subscriber 
• In case of early enrollment in the scheme, the monthly contributions are comparatively lesser than late enrollment 
• At the age of 18 years, minimum contribution should be Rs.42 to get Rs.1000 
• At the age of 40 years, minimum contribution should be Rs.1454 to get Rs.5000 
• APY calculation is done depending on the contribution made to the scheme either monthly, quarterly or half-yearly 

How to Withdraw Money from APY Account?

• 1. Determine Eligibility for Withdrawal Withdrawal from the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is only allowed in exceptional cases, such as terminal illness. Normal exits are permitted only after reaching 60 years of age. 

• 2. Submit the APY Account Closure Form For voluntary exit, complete and sign the APY Account Closure Form (Voluntary Exit) and submit it at the bank where your account is held. 

• 3. Bank Processes Closure Request Once the form is received, the bank will process your closure request. They will calculate the total contributions plus interest accrued to your account. 

• 4. Deduction of Applicable Charges Any APY account closure or maintenance charges will be deducted from the total amount. 

• 5. Receive Balance Amount the remaining balance, after deductions, will be credited to your bank account. Note that cash payouts are not made under existing APY rules. 

• 6. Withdrawal Procedure Post-60 Years If you are over 60 years old, you can exit the scheme by applying for your pension directly at the bank. 

• 7. Provision for Early Withdrawal In the case of death before 60, the spouse will receive the pension. If both you and your spouse pass away, the pension will be paid to your nominee. 

Atal Pension Yojana Withdrawal Procedure:

Although initially this scheme did not permit exiting before you reach the age of 60, the Atal Pension Yojana withdrawal procedure has been slightly modified:

• If you have reached 60 years of age, then you can exit this scheme with a complete annuitization of the pension amount. You will have to visit the bank and apply for your pension.
• You can exit the scheme before turning 60 years old only under exceptional circumstances such as terminal illness or death. In case of your demise before reaching the age of 60, your spouse will receive your pension. In the event that both you and your spouse have expired, the pension would be paid to your nominee.

Check Account Statement Online

The following are the ways to check the account statement online: 

• The APY account statement can be checked online if someone is already a subscriber and have a valid PRAN (Permanent Retirement Account Number) 
• Atal Pension Yojana Account Statement can be checked online by visiting the NSDL website if an individual is registered with NSDL CRA. Here are the following ways to check the account: 
  • For individuals who have PRAN, they require only the account number to check the online APY statement 
  • You will have to provide the following details: 
    • Name of the subscriber 
    • Bank account number 
    • Date of Birth as per APY records 

• You can also receive your APY account statement online via your registered email address 

Atal Pension Yojana App

Here are the necessary details related to Atal Pension Yojana application: 

• To enable easy access to APY account for subscribers, PFRDA introduced Atal Pension Yojana App 
• The application provides the following services: 
  • APY account balance 
  • Details of next contribution is due 
  • APY account details 
  • APY transactions list, etc. 

• The application is available on every Android device for free of cost

Atal Pension Yojana Penalty Charges:

Here is a table outlining the penalty charges for delayed payments under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY): 

Note: The APY penalty charges are fixed amounts based on the pension contribution amount. 

Tax Benefits for APY Subscribers

The following are the details regarding tax benefits for APY subscribers: 

• APY scheme is a government notified scheme that offers exception under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act 1961 
• It offers tax exemption benefits up to the Rs. 1.5 lakh cumulative annual limit 
• Under the relatively newer Section 80CCD (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, APY also offers additional benefit of Rs.50,000 annually 
• This additional benefit is similar to that applied to the National Pension Scheme which is over and above the Rs.1.50 lakh annual tax exemption benefit 

APY Account Closure and Exit

The following are the details regarding APY account closure, co-contribution, and exit: 

• Closure and exit from APY account are allowed in case of exceptional circumstances, such as terminal illness 
• As per details provided in the APY account opening form, the entire corpus amount is paid to the nominee in case of death of the subscriber 
• In Inorganised sector, co-contribution is available among the workers 
• In co-contribution, 50% of the amount or Rs.1000 whichever is lower will be contributed by the government 
• Co-contribution will be done by the government only for a period of five years 
• Subscribers cannot be members of any statutory social security scheme and also should not pay income tax to enjoy co-contribution 

Note: Income of the subscriber should be less than the income tax threshold.

Features of the Atal Pension Yojana:

The main features of the APY scheme are mentioned below:

• The Indian Government guarantees the minimum pension that will be paid to the individual after retirement.
• Under Section 80CCD, individuals are eligible for Atal Pension Yojana tax benefits for the contributions made towards the scheme.
• All bank account holders are eligible to join the APY scheme.
• Individuals will start receiving pension once they reach the age of 60.
• Private sector employees who are not provided any pension benefits are also allowed to apply for Atal Pension Yojana scheme.
• You have an option of receiving a fixed pension of Rs.1,000, Rs.2,000, Rs.3,000, Rs.4,000, or Rs.5,000 once you reach 60 years of age.
• In case of your demise during the scheme, your spouse can either claim the contributions or complete the duration of the scheme.

Atal Pension Yojana Tax Benefits 

Section 80CCD of the Income Tax Act, 1961 permits deductions for individual contributions made under the Atal Pension Yojana. Section 80CCD (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 allows a maximum deduction of 10% of gross total income, subject to an annual maximum deduction of Rs.1.5 lakh as specified by section 80CCE of the Income Tax Act. 

A further deduction of Rs.50,000 per year is allowed under section 80CCD(1B) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for an additional contribution of Rs.50,000 annually. According to the Income Tax Act of 1961, certain requirements must be met in order to qualify for these deductions.  

Customer Support Toll Free Number

Here are the following details related to customer support toll-free number: 

• There is no specific customer support toll-free number for APY scheme as the account can be opened at any of the banks in India 
• The contact point for your APY account will be the corresponding bank where you have opened the account 
• You can even reach out for any of your queries related to APY scheme at:

1800 889 1030 (Atal Pension Yojana Helpline No.) 

1800 110 069 (Atal Pension Yojana Helpline Desk)