APY Death Claim for Spouse or Nominee — citizen guide 2026

The correct APY death benefit depends first on whether the subscriber died before or after 60 and whether a spouse is alive. After pension has begun, the surviving spouse receives the same guaranteed pension for life; after both subscriber and spouse die, the nominee receives the pension wealth specified by the scheme. Before 60, the spouse may continue contributions or choose closure and corpus settlement.

Do not use the sentence “the spouse always gets monthly pension immediately after any death.” If the subscriber dies before 60, continuation requires contributions for the remaining vesting period. Closure is a separate option.

PFRDA's FAQ and the 22 March 2016 notification provide the option. When the spouse continues:

• a new PRAN is generated in the spouse's name;
• the spouse contributes for the remaining period until the date the deceased subscriber would have reached 60;
• the contribution amount remains the amount chosen by the deceased subscriber;
• the balance units in the deceased subscriber's APY account transfer to the spouse's APY account;
• contribution is made from the spouse's savings bank account;
• the resulting APY account can exist in addition to an APY account the spouse already maintains.

This is not the same as immediate family pension. Ask the branch to show the contribution frequency, amount, remaining period and bank account before choosing.

If the spouse chooses closure instead, the accumulated corpus till that date is returned under the scheme process. The branch should not select the option without the claimant's informed choice.

Find the PRAN, APY transaction statement, welcome message, passbook entry or bank/post-office record. If PRAN is missing, ask the APY service-provider branch to trace the account from the subscriber's identity and linked savings account. Do not create a new APY enrolment for the deceased person.

Use PFRDA's Forms page and select APY Account Closure and Continuation (Death) Form in the required language. The form contains the closure/continuation choice and acknowledgement section.

Avoid an old form copied from a commercial website. If the branch prints a different version, compare it with PFRDA's current listing and ask which circular authorises it.

Follow the checklist printed on the current form and the branch's lawful KYC requirements. The official death-form material identifies core documents including:

• death certificate of the subscriber, verified as required by the bank/Department of Posts;
• KYC of the spouse or nominee;
• proof of the receiving bank account;
• PRAN and APY account details;
• spouse/nominee details matching the CRA record.

Where both subscriber and spouse have died, carry both death certificates and the claimant/nominee proof. If names differ across records, prepare the official linking/correction evidence rather than altering a certificate.

Do not close the subscriber's or receiving savings account merely because the death form has been submitted. PFRDA has warned that closure proceeds can be returned when the linked account is closed. Ask the branch which account will receive the money or from which account future spouse contributions will be debited.

The associated bank or post-office branch is the first processing point. Submit the form and documents, and insist that the acknowledgement portion shows:

• date received;
• PRAN;
• claimant and chosen option;
• receiving officer's name/stamp;
• branch contact or complaint reference.

Do not hand over original death or identity certificates permanently unless a specific official rule requires it. Present originals for verification and submit copies as instructed.

Ask whether the request is:

1. accepted at branch;
2. entered in the bank/CRA system;
3. returned for a deficiency;
4. authorised for spouse continuation/new PRAN;
5. authorised for closure;
6. sent for payment;
7. credited or returned by the bank.

“Under process” without a transaction date or deficiency is not a useful status. Ask for the system/request number.

Subject: APY death claim / spouse continuation for PRAN [number]

Subscriber: [name]
Date of death: [date]
Claimant and relationship: [details]
Chosen option: [spouse continuation / closure / post-pension spouse benefit /
nominee corpus]

Please acknowledge the enclosed current PFRDA form and documents, enter the
request in the APY/CRA system, give the transaction reference, and communicate
any deficiency in writing with the governing rule or circular.

Keep one complete signed copy. If the claimant uses a thumb impression or needs assistance, ask the branch to follow the form's witnessing and verification requirements.

Do not assume either extreme: a recorded spouse/nominee should not automatically be made to produce every possible court document, but a disputed, missing or inconsistent nomination may require additional succession evidence.

Ask the branch to state:

• the claimant recorded in CRA;
• the exact mismatch or dispute;
• the document required;
• the scheme rule/circular supporting that demand;
• whether the undisputed part can proceed.

This written response lets you correct a genuine gap or challenge an unsupported demand.

Escalate first to the branch manager/nodal APY officer with the acknowledgement. Also use PFRDA Pension Sahayak with mobile number or PRAN. The grievance is assigned to the concerned intermediary or nodal office and can be tracked online.

PFRDA's current grievance page says a grievance that is unsatisfactory or unresolved by the intermediary within 30 days may be escalated through Pension Sahayak to NPS Trust. If no satisfactory Level-2 response arrives under the published route, the page gives the Ombudsman appeal, Designated Member revision and Securities Appellate Tribunal sequence. Follow the current formats and clocks on that page.

Do not skip directly to a tribunal because a branch conversation was unpleasant. Preserve each required prior step.

PFRDA and public-sector service providers may hold records subject to RTI, depending on the authority and custody. A focused request can seek:

• date the branch entered the death request;
• CRA transaction/reference and status history;
• recorded deficiency or rejection note;
• officer-wise movement and pending level;
• rule/circular applied;
• payment instruction and returned-payment record.

RTI does not decide entitlement or override a nomination dispute. File the service/grievance claim first, then ask the correct public authority for existing records. Private banks are not automatically public authorities; PFRDA may hold regulatory/CRA records but not every branch paper. Use the AI RTI Drafter only after locating custody.

• Saying “spouse pension” without checking whether death occurred before 60.
• Letting the branch tick closure when the spouse wants continuation.
• Using a voluntary-exit form instead of the death/continuation form.
• Closing the linked savings account before proceeds arrive.
• Filing without a stamped acknowledgement.
• Assuming nominee means a spouse was correctly recorded after marriage.
• Accepting an oral deficiency or rejection.
• Expecting RTI to substitute for the APY claim form.

After the subscriber has reached 60 and pension entitlement has begun, the spouse receives the same guaranteed pension until death. A before-60 death uses the continuation-or-closure options.

Yes. PFRDA provides for a new PRAN in the spouse's name, transfer of units and contributions for the remaining period until the deceased subscriber would have reached 60.

PFRDA's FAQ provides a closure option under which accumulated corpus till date is returned to the spouse/nominee according to the scheme record.

For death before 60, PFRDA's FAQ says the corpus is returned to the nominee.

Submit it to the bank or Department of Posts branch servicing the APY account—the APY service provider.

PFRDA publishes the form online, but the claimant submits it through the associated APY service-provider branch under the current process.

Ask the servicing branch to trace it from the account and identity records. Include the linked savings-account details in the branch request without publishing them.

No. The same-pension continuation after the subscriber's death is the spouse benefit. The nominee's scheme role is generally return of pension wealth after both subscriber and spouse die, or corpus settlement in the applicable before-60/unmarried case.

PRAN; subscriber and spouse/nominee details; dates of birth and death; current PFRDA death form; chosen outcome; death certificate(s); KYC; receiving bank proof; live account check; acknowledgement; CRA reference; deficiency; Pension Sahayak grievance; escalation records; and credit proof.

• RTI Wiki home
• Resolve a delayed APY pension or contribution
• How APY enrolment and benefits work
• EPF death benefit claim
• AI RTI Drafter
• The RTI Playbook

• PFRDA — Atal Pension Yojana FAQ
• PFRDA — APY subscriber forms
• PFRDA — APY death withdrawal process and form
• PFRDA — APY Gazette notifications
• PFRDA — grievance escalation for APY and NPS
• PFRDA Pension Sahayak — lodge and track grievance