What is Atal Pension Yojana, Benefits and Eligibility for Atal Pension Yojana

The Atal Pension Yojana is a pension plan launched by the central government with an aim to provide pension benefits to the citizens of the unorganized sector that makes up the majority of the whole labor force in the country. The scheme came into existence by replacing Swavalamban Yojana which could not get the popular appeal due to not guaranteeing the pension benefits at the age of 60.

Hence the primary goal behind the Atal Pension Yojana is to offer social security to the people of old age, especially the economically backward and underprivileged. Differing from the Swavalamban Yojana, this scheme assures returns during the retirement phase or once the policy term ends.

Benefits of Atal Pension Yojana

The Atal Pension Yojana makes it possible even for the employees working for the private sector to subscribe for this pension scheme. The subscribers can choose the amount of contribution as the amount chosen will decide the amount of returns. The individuals covered by the scheme are guaranteed to get a pension amount of Rs 1,000 or Rs 2,000 or Rs 3,000 or Rs 4,000 or Rs 5,000 when they attain the age of 60 years. If the subscriber happens to die, the pension amount will be given to the spouse or nominee. In addition, the scheme also makes the subscribers eligible for a tax benefit under Section 80CCD of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The amount collected from the subscribers to Atal pension Yojana is managed and distributed by the Pension Funds Regulatory Authority of India (PFRDA). As an additional incentive for the subscribers, the government has also declared a co-contribution of 50% or Rs 1000 per annum to the subscribers who joined the scheme between 1st June 2015 and 31st December 2015 for a period of 5 years. To be eligible for the co-contribution by the government, the subscriber must not be an income tax payer. He must also be not covered by any other Statutory Social Security Schemes.

Eligibility conditions for Atal Pension Yojana

The following are the eligibility criteria for subscribing for the Atal Pension Yojana.

The savings bank account used for the purpose of this scheme must be linked with a registered mobile number and Aadhaar card number.

The age of the person subscribing to the program must be between 18 and 40.

The minimum contribution by the subscriber must be at least for a period of 20 years.

Most importantly, all the individuals who had registered under the Swavalamban Yojana have been migrated to Atal Pension Yojana by default.

Exiting the scheme before attaining the age of 60

As per the rules governing the Atal Pension Yojana, it is not possible for an individual to exit the scheme before attaining 60 years. However in case of exceptional reasons like the terminal illness or the death of the subscriber, the subscriber can exit the program and start receiving the pension. In the event of the death of the subscriber, his spouse can choose to continue the contributions towards this scheme and receive a monthly pension after the term is over.