Direct answer. Atal Pension Yojana gives a guaranteed monthly pension of ₹1,000 / 2,000 / 3,000 / 4,000 / 5,000 after age 60 to anyone who joins between 18–40 years and contributes to age 60. Contribution is as low as ₹42/month (₹1,000 pension at age 18). After your death, the same pension goes to your spouse; after both, the corpus is returned to nominee. Open at any bank with savings account + Aadhaar. ₹0 application fee.

• Pension: ₹1k / 2k / 3k / 4k / 5k per month after 60.
• Eligible: Anyone aged 18–40 with bank account + Aadhaar.
• Contribution starts at ₹42/month (₹1k pension, age 18).
• Same pension to spouse after your death + corpus to nominee.
• Open at any bank or post office.
• Helpline: 1800-110-069.
• Withdrawal stuck? 🪄 RTI in 60 sec.

APY launched 9 May 2015 under PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority). Government guarantees the pension — if returns from invested corpus are short, government tops up. 6.5+ crore subscribers as of 2026.

• Guaranteed pension (not market-linked like NPS/MFs)
• Low entry — ₹42/month start
• Govt subsidy (closed for new joiners post-2022 except low-income, but legacy benefits continue)
• Spouse pension built in
• Section 80CCD(1B) — additional ₹50k tax deduction

• Guaranteed monthly pension ₹1,000 / 2,000 / 3,000 / 4,000 / 5,000.
• Life-long pension post-60 till your death.
• Spouse pension — after your death, spouse continues to get same pension till her/his death.
• Corpus refund to nominee — after both deaths, corpus (₹1.7L–8.5L approximately, depending on slab) goes to nominee.
• Tax benefit under 80CCD(1B) — ₹50,000/year deduction (over and above 80C ₹1.5L).

(Rounded; bank-specific computation may vary by ₹1–2.)

• Age 18–40 at the time of opening.
• Indian citizen with savings account.
• Aadhaar mandatory (linked to savings account).
• Mobile number — for SMS confirmations.
• Not a tax-payer in last AY — was a hard rule from October 2022; income-tax-paying citizens cannot newly join (existing accounts continue).

1. Aadhaar card (mobile-linked)
2. Existing savings bank account (any bank)
3. Mobile number

That's it — no photo, no income proof, no caste cert.

1. Visit your existing savings account branch.
2. Ask for “Atal Pension Yojana enrolment form” (also available at bank's website).
3. Fill: Aadhaar + bank account + chosen pension (₹1k/2k/3k/4k/5k) + nominee details + spouse details.
4. Submit + Aadhaar OTP for eKYC.
5. First month's contribution auto-debited from savings account.
6. PRAN (Permanent Retirement Account Number) issued — save it.

1. Login to net banking / mobile app.
2. “Investments” / “PFRDA / NPS” → “Atal Pension Yojana”.
3. Same details as above. Aadhaar OTP-based.
4. Auto-debit set up.

• Insufficient bank balance on auto-debit date — penalty (₹1–10/month) charged. Repeated default after 6 months = account frozen.
• Wrong pension slab chosen — once chosen, change allowed once per year in April only.
• Nominee not updated — keep nominee current; default routes to legal heir which delays.
• Aadhaar-bank not seeded — auto-debit from non-Aadhaar account fine, but pension credit later may have DBT issues.
• Not telling spouse — spouse pension entitlement requires spouse to know + apply with death certificate.

• Income-tax payer exclusion — since 1 October 2022, ITR-filing citizens cannot newly join. Existing subscribers continue.
• Auto-payment via UPI AutoPay — supported in 2024+ (alternative to bank auto-debit).
• Online opening — most major banks now have full digital APY enrolment.

Yes — once per year in April only. Visit branch, fill modification form. Contributions auto-adjust.

Penalty by slab: ₹1 (≤ ₹100), ₹2 (₹101–500), ₹5 (₹501–1000), ₹10 (> ₹1000). After 6 months default → account frozen. After 12 months → account closed (you get back contributions + interest minus penalty).

Generally no. Exit allowed only on:

• Death (corpus / pension to spouse + nominee)
• Terminal illness (with medical certificate)
• Voluntary exit before 60 — you get back only your contribution + interest (govt's contribution + investment returns are forfeited)

APY: guaranteed pension, low contribution, simple, fixed amount. Best for low-to-mid income with predictability need. NPS: market-linked higher returns potential, more flexibility, no guarantee. Best for higher income with higher risk appetite. You can have both.

Yes — same pension amount continues to spouse till their death. After both, corpus returned to nominee.

₹902/month × 25 years = ₹2.7 lakh paid in. Spouse + you get ₹5,000/month for life (~25 years post-60 = ₹15 lakh paid out). Plus corpus return to nominee. Yes, very affordable.

Yes — fully stackable. APY is on top.

If account frozen but not closed, you can reactivate by paying outstanding contributions + penalty. Visit branch.

Existing APY continues — the 1-Oct-2022 cut-off applies only to new enrolments. You keep contributing + getting pension.

• Jan Dhan — open the bank account first
• e-Shram — for unorganised workers (auto-eligibility for PMSYM)
• PMSBY — ₹2 lakh accident cover ₹20/year
• PMJJBY — ₹2 lakh life cover ₹436/year
• 💰 All financial schemes
• RTI for pension delay

• APY — NPS Trust
• PFRDA — official regulator
• NPS Trust
• Helpline: 1800-110-069

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Last reviewed: 3 May 2026.