7 Things You Must Know Before Investing in Atal Pension Yojana

Atal Pension Yojana (APY) launched in the year 2015 provides a guaranteed pension for the poor citizens, underprivileged, and the workers in the unorganized sector of India. This scheme is owned by the government and is operated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). Individuals from the unorganized sector can actively invest to save capital for their retirement under this scheme.

All bank account holders are eligible to invest in this scheme between an age limit of 18 to 40 years. The contribution in this scheme is determined from the age of the person, and the opted pension amount. Professionals suggest that an individual aiming for this scheme can cherish the maximum benefit at an early age. So let's know the seven things about this scheme which enables you to opt this scheme as an ideal option for your retirement period.

1. The scheme offers guaranteed minimum monthly pension of Rs 1000 or Rs 2000 or Rs 3000 or Rs 4000 or Rs 5,000 at the age of 60 years to the subscribers. The scheme is available with the mode of monthly, quarterly or half-yearly contribution.

2. The subscriber or spouse both are eligible to get monthly pension amount. After the death of the subscriber, the pension corpus would be given to the nominee.

3. If the investor dies after 60 years of age, then the spouse can either quit the scheme and claim the corpus or extend the scheme for the remaining duration.

4. Investors must fill out the Atal Pension Yojana form, accessible both at the bank and online via e-NPS, to enroll for the scheme. An investor can head to any nationalized bank or can download the form (available in multiple languages) from the official website and submit it physically to the respective bank in order to apply for the scheme.

5. The investor needs to keep contributing regularly in this scheme until the age of 60 to get the fixed amount of monthly pension. Premature withdrawal is also available for the investor before the age of 60 and one can make a premature exit in the event of serious disease or death.

6. The account will not be disabled until the investor stops making the contribution, it will only be terminated if the account balance becomes nil.

7. This scheme also comes with tax benefits such as the NPS (National Pension System) which means investors are liable for tax deduction under section 80CCD (1) of the Income-tax Act.

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