The new enrolments under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) scheme have crossed 65 lakh in the current fiscal year. In contrast, the Pension Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) expects new subscribers to the APY scheme to cross the one-crore benchmark by the 31st of March 2021.
The government launched the APY scheme on 9th May 2015, and since then, the total subscriber base under this scheme has reached 3.60 crores with assets under management (AUM) of around Rs.20,000 crore.
Atal Pension Yojana is a voluntary investment scheme backed by the government. The main drive of this scheme is to provide old-age income security to the investors with a minimum assured amount. According to the individual contributions, the minimum assured amount would range from Rs.1,000 to Rs.5,000 a month, even though it is a market-linked scheme.
PFRDA chairman mentioned his gratitude for the vigorous efforts of the public and private banks, regional rural banks, department of post and state-level banking committees to bring the most vulnerable section of the society under this pension plan coverage. The chairman further added that they plan to achieve pension saturation in the country. They further plan to take continuous proactive initiatives and hit the one crore enrolment’s under the APY scheme in the current fiscal.
Some of the features of the APY scheme is as below:
- Anyone between 18 to 40 years can enrol for this scheme.
- A guaranteed pension in the range of Rs.1000-Rs.5000 a month would be made available to the subscribers.
- The pension amount is guaranteed for a lifetime to the spouse on the death of the subscriber. In the event of the death of both the subscriber and the spouse, the entire pension corpus is paid to the nominee.
- Contributions to the APY scheme enjoys the same benefit as available under the National Pension Scheme (NPS). An additional benefit of Rs.50,000 is available as deductions for contributions in the APY scheme under Section 80CCD (1B) of the act.
- The government guarantees a minimum pension amount. This means that if the accumulated investments earn lower returns and are insufficient to provide adequate returns, the central government would fund such inadequacy. Consequently, if the returns are higher, subscribers would get enhanced pensions.
If you want to know more about the scheme or apply for the same, please refer to this link.
For any clarifications/feedback on the topic, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the writer at jyoti.arora@cleartax.in
I am a Chartered Accountant by profession with 4+ years of experience in the finance domain. I consider myself as someone who yearns to explore the world through travelling & Reading. I believe, the knowledge & wisdom that reading gives has helped me shape my perspective towards life, career and relationships. I enjoy meeting new people & learning about their lives & backgrounds. My mantra is to find inspiration from everyday life & thrive to be better each day.
