All you Need to Know About Atal Pension Yojana

The government of India announced the Atal Pension Yojana in the year 2015 for the workers of the unorganized sector. The scheme was introduced to initiate the habit of compulsory savings for retirement. The Atal Pension Yojana is designed for daily wage workers who want to save a small amount of money for a fixed pension once they retire. Moreover, APS can also be availed by individuals working in the private sector, who are neither taxpayers nor a part of any social security scheme. Let’s read further to know in detail about Atal Pension Yojana.

Atal Pension Yojana Details

Every eligible citizen who joined the Atal Pension plan between 1st June 2015 and 1st December 2015 will get 50% of the contribution amount or Rs.1000/year, whichever is lower. The co-contribution by the government is held for a maximum of 5 years.

• You can get a fixed pension ranging from Rs.1000 to a maximum of Rs.5000/month by investing through this scheme
• The minimum age eligibility of the scheme is 18 years, whereas the maximum age criteria to open APY scheme is up to 40 years
• The pension is paid to the account holder once they reach the age of 60 years
• The minimum period of contribution of the scheme is of 20 years
• One can exit the scheme in case of specific circumstances like death of the beneficiary or in case of terminal illness
• Any false declaration in the application form wil lead to penalty and loss of the government’s contribution

Benefits Offered by Atal Pension Yojana

Let’s take a look at the benefits offered by Atal Pension Yojana:

Guaranteed Pension

The account holder of Atal Pension Yojana are eligible to get a period pension of Rs. 1000, Rs. 2000, Rs. 3000, Rs. 4000 or Rs. 5000 as per the monthly contribution.

Feature to Increase Contribution

Under Atal Pension Yojana, the account holder is eligible to receive pension once they reach 60 years of age. The amount received as the pension depends on the amount of contribution made by an individual towards the scheme. To get higher pension amount one can contribute a higher amount towards the scheme. The government of India also provides the facility to incrdease or decrease the amount of contribution once in every year.

Automatic Debit

Under Atal Pension Yojana an individua can link their bank account with the APY account for auto debit. With the help of automatic debit option, the monthly contributed amount is directly debited from the contributor’s account every month on a specific date. However, it is important to keep in mind that the bank account should have a sufficient balance for automatic debot failing which can attract penalty.

Tax Benefits

The contributions made towards APY are applicable for tax exemption under Section 80CCD of the IT Act, 1961. The maximum tax exemption allowed u/s 80CCD (1) is 10% of the gross total income of a concerned person. This is up to a limit of Rs. 1,50,000. Under section 80CCD(1B), an additional tax exemption of Rs. 50,000 allowed for all contributions made by the contributor.

Eligibility Criteria to Invest in Atal Pension Yojana

Here are the eligibility criteria to Atal Pension Yojana Account:

• Consumers who hold a valid savings account can open atal pension yojana account
• The age of the applicant must be between 18 years and 40 years
• Each applicant is required to register a mobile number with the account at the time of submitting the application
• The government also provide a co-contribution amount to certain subscribers of Atal Pension Yojana

Atal Pension Yojana Contribution Chart

If you want to invest in Atal Pension Yojana every month, you have to contribute as per the below-mentioned table. The monthly contribution amount depends on the entry age and the target income per month that you want after retirement.

Note: The monthly chart of Atal Pension Yojana scheme is indicative and the actual amount of contribution may change.