The government of India launched the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) to promote a society inclusive of pensions and give all Indian citizens working in the unorganised sector a way to guarantee their income in old age. The Pension Fund and Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has issued a master circular on the online facility to ease onboarding and seeding of Aadhaar for APY subscribers. The master circular was issued on January 31, 2024.
Let us take a look at what the PFRDA master circular states.
Protean e-Governance Technologies’ Central Recordkeeping Agency (PCRA) has launched eAPY to improve accessibility and streamline the subscription process. Using Aadhaar eKYC/XML/Virtual ID, this digital facility offers an extra option for seamless digital enrollment. This saves time, effort, money, and provides a great deal of convenience by doing away with the need to visit a bank branch.
How to apply for Atal Pension Yojana
How can a prospective APY subscribers open eAPY?
With the use of PCRA’s service, prospective APY subscribers may now register online for eAPY, making it easier for them to access APY services. This feature makes it easy and comfortable for subscribers to interact with the system without using any paper.
Three ways APY subscribers can register:
The eAPY facility is provided without charge, and using it carries no additional costs. The following ways are available for prospective APY subscribers to register via the PCRA portal and “APY and NPS Lite” mobile app:
- Offline XML-based Aadhaar KYC
- Online Aadhaar-based eKYC
- Virtual ID
Subscribers opting for eAPY registration should ensure the following:
- The demographic information provided during eAPY registration matches the information in bank records.
- The savings account has sufficient balance for the first APY installment, based on the chosen pension amount (Rs 1000 – Rs 5000).
- APY account activation occurs after authentication of information retrieved from Aadhaar, including Name and Date of Birth.
PoPs-APY alerts subscribers of rejections for online registration, citing the reasons for the denial, and recommends that they resubmit their requests following correction.Pension amounts in Atal Pension Yojana
APY provides a fixed minimum pension starting from Rs 1,000 per month to a maximum of Rs 5,000 per month. At the time of enrolment, a subscriber is required to choose the amount of monthly pension he wants to receive: Rs 1,000, Rs 2,000, Rs 3,000, Rs 4,000 or Rs 5,000
Who is eligible to open APY scheme account?
In order to apply for the APY Scheme, non-taxpayers need to be Indian citizens. The subscriber’s age must be between 18 and 40 years old, with a minimum age requirement of 18. The APY scheme’s qualifying requirements have undergone several modifications by the government in recent times. Beginning on October 1, 2022, income taxpayers are not permitted to create an account under the APY programme.As per the NPS Trust website, “In case you join the APY scheme on or after 1st October 2022, and it is later found out that you have been an income taxpayer on or before the date of application, then your APY account will be closed. You will receive all the wealth accumulated in your account until the date of closure.”
How to open If you want to open an APY account using Net-banking facility
Here is an example using ICICI Bank Net banking facility. According to the ICICI Bank website, follow the steps below to open APY account:
Step 1: Login to ICICIBank.com
Step 2: Click on Customer Service
Step 3: Click ‘Service Request’
Step 4: Click on “Enrol for Atal Pension Yojana” from “Bank Accounts” section
Step 5: Fill-in all the required details and submit. The Atal Pension Yojana Account will be activated within 1 working day.
Important FAQs on APY as per NSDL website
What is the due date for contribution under APY?
APY contributions will be collected through auto-debit of their savings bank account/ post office savings bank account on any date of the particular month, in case of monthly contributions or any day of the first month of the quarter, in case of quarterly contributions or any day of the first month of the half year, in case of half-yearly contributions.
What will happen if the contribution gets delayed?
Subscriber will be charged overdue interest for the delayed period in case the APY contribution gets delayed beyond the due date.
How the contributions are invested in APY?
The contributions under APY are invested as per the investment guidelines prescribed by PFRDA for Central Government / State Government / NPS-Lite / Swavalamban Scheme / APY. The contributions thus collected are invested and the funds are managed by namely SBI Pension Fund Pvt. Ltd, LIC Pension Fund Ltd, UTI Retirement Solution Ltd.
