Atal Pension Yojana | 12 May 2020

Why in News

The flagship social security scheme of the Government of India - ‘Atal Pension Yojana’ (APY) - has completed five years of implementation and garnered over 2.2 crore subscribers.

Key Points

• Target Segment: The scheme was launched on 9^th May, 2015, with the objective of creating a universal social security system for all Indians, especially the poor, the under-privileged and the workers in the unorganised sector.
• Administered By: Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority through National Pension System (NPS).
• Eligibility: Any citizen of India can join the APY scheme. The age of the subscriber should be between 18-40 years. The contribution levels would vary and would be low if a subscriber joins early and increases if she joins late.
• Benefits:
  
  • It provides a minimum guaranteed pension ranging from Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 on attaining 60 years of age.
  • The amount of pension is guaranteed for lifetime to the spouse on death of the subscriber.
  • In the event of death of both the subscriber and the spouse, the entire pension corpus is paid to the nominee.
• Tax Benefits: Contributions to the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) are eligible for tax benefits similar to the National Pension System (NPS).
• Analysis:
  
  • The scheme has been implemented comprehensively across the country covering all states and Union Territories with male to female subscription ratio of 57:43.
  • However, only 5% of the eligible population has been covered under APY till date.

Source: PIB