Indialends, 08 Apr 2021

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Atal Pension Yojana

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The Atal Pension Yojana scheme was launched in the budget of 2015-2016 to help the poor and unorganized section of society so they can receive regular income after retirement.

• A pension up to Rs 5000 paid each month.
• Tax Benefits are provided. 
• The Indian Government contributed to the scheme.
• Risk-free scheme

All operations of the scheme are taken care of by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). The APY scheme is a voluntary scheme to make saving for your after-retirement life.

Objectives of Atal Pension Yojana

• It is the best provision of giving security and protection to citizens against accidents, diseases, illness, and so on.
• This scheme is mainly aimed at the unorganized sector in the country.
• Features and Benefits of Atal Pension Yojana
• The Indian Government guarantees a minimum pension which will be paid to the individual post-retirement.
• According to Section 80CCD, individuals are eligible to avail of tax benefits for all the contributions made in a financial year towards this scheme.
• All the bank account holders become eligible to join the APY scheme.
• Individuals will start getting pensions after retirement or you can say after completing the age of 60 years.
• Even the Private sector employees who are not provided such benefits are also allowed to apply for the 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.
  

Eligibility criteria to apply for Atal Pension Yojana

• You must be a resident of India.
• The minimum age to apply is 18 years and the maximum is 40 years.
• You should mention an active mobile number.
• You must have a valid bank account number linked to your Aadhaar number.
• You must submit all ‘Know Your Customer details.
• You must not have an existing APY account.

Procedure to apply for Atal Pension Yojana Scheme

These are the below-mentioned steps that must follow to avail of the benefit of this scheme:

• The APY scheme is available in all the nationalized banks. An individual can visit any of the banks to apply for an APY account.
• The account opening form is also available online on the websites of banks. An individual can download the application form.
• The application form is available in English, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Marathi, Kannada, Bangla, and Gujarati
• The application form must be filled and submitted at the bank.
• A valid mobile number should be provided.
• Aadhaar card photocopy must be submitted.

File Format

Here are the steps to fill the application form:

Addressing Form:

The form should address the Branch Manager. You can find the name of the brancher by calling on the branch or visiting the bank. Enter your bank name and branch.

Bank Details

 Fill the form in BLOCK Letters. First, you are required to provide your bank details. Enter your bank name, branch name, and account number. Make sure these fields are filled properly.

Personal Details

• Tick the box that is applicable as your relationship status and gender status whether you are “Shri”, “Smt” or “Kumari”.
• All married applicants are required to mention the spouse's name.
• Enter your date of birth, age, and full name.
• Provide your email address, mobile number, and Aadhaar number.
• You can nominate someone and state their relationship. A nominee becomes liable to get your contribution in case of demise.
• 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.

Pension details

You can contribute to the pension between Rs 1000- Rs 5000. The options are available as Rs 1000, Rs 2000, Rs 3000, Rs 4000, and Rs 5000. The heading of the section is titled as “Contribution Amount(monthly)” is to be left blank as what that will be filled by the bank after calculating the amount you have to pay every month to receive the pension.

Declaration and Authorization

You need to fill date and place. You can either sign a document or put a thumb impression. By signing the document, you are making a declaration you are meeting the Atal Pension Yojana Eligibility criteria. Secondly, you have read and understood all the terms and conditions of the scheme. You are giving a declaration that all the information available in the form is correct. 

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.

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. You should leave this box blank. It is an acknowledgment 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.

Withdrawal Procedure of Atal Pension Yojana

• Initially, it was not allowed to take an exit from the Atal Pension Yojana scheme before attaining the age of 60 years.  But now, 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 are allowed to exit the scheme before turning 60 years old only under exceptional circumstances like death or illness. In case of your demise before reaching the age of 60, your spouse will receive your pension. If both you and your spouse have expired, the pension would be paid to your nominee.

Penalty charges in case of stoppage of payments

• If there are no payments made for 6 months, the account will be frozen.
• The account will be deactivated if there are no payments made for 12 months.
• The APY account will be closed if payments are not made for 24 months.