Atal Pension Yojana
Funded in the 2026-27 Union Budget: Union Expenditure Budget 2026-27 (Feb 2026, Demand No. 32 (Department of Financial Services), item 10 Government Co-contribution to Atal Pension Yojana, BE 2026-27 ₹547.75 crore; Notes item 10)
A guaranteed pension of ₹1,000, ₹2,000, ₹3,000, ₹4,000 or ₹5,000 a month from age 60 for anyone aged 18 to 40 with a savings account who is not an income-tax payer — including farmers and farm workers not covered by PM-KMY — in return for a fixed monthly contribution until 60.
- Lead benefit
- ₹1,000–5,000a month pension from age 60
- Components
- 2each read from the document
- Who can apply
- Allapplicants
- Closing date
- Noneapply any time
What it pays
Join between 18 and 40, pay the fixed monthly amount until 60, and the government guarantees you a pension of ₹1,000 to ₹5,000 a month (your choice) for life, then the same to your spouse.
What the document says, word for word
You pay the whole contribution yourself: for ₹1,000 a month, ₹42 a month if you join at 18 or ₹291 if you join at 40; for ₹5,000, ₹210 to ₹1,454 a month (Annex-1). The 50% government co-contribution applied only to those who joined before 31 Dec 2015, for 2015-16 to 2019-20 (para 5) — it is closed. Income-tax payers cannot join (PIB, Ministry of Finance, 9 May 2026: “open to all bank account holders in the age group of 18 to 40 years who are not income tax payers”). Small and marginal landowners may prefer PM-KMY, where the government matches your contribution.
“(i) Central Government guaranteed minimum pension amount : Each subscriber under APY shall receive a Central Government guaranteed minimum pension of Rs. 1000 per month or Rs. 2000 per month or Rs. 3000 per month or Rs. 4000 per month or Rs. 5000 per month, after the age of 60 years until death. (ii) Central Government guaranteed minimum pension amount to the spouse : After the subscriber’s demise, the spouse of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the same pension amount as that of the subscriber until the death of the spouse.”Any bank account holder aged 18 to 40 who does not pay income tax can join — land is not required.
What the document says, word for word
“Eligibility : APY is open to all bank account holders in the age group of 18 to 40 years who are not income tax payers and the contributions differ, based on pension amount chosen.”How much can I claim?
A government-guaranteed pension of ₹1,000–₹5,000 a month from 60 for life, the same to your spouse after you, and the corpus (₹1.7 lakh to ₹8.5 lakh) to your nominee after both.
You pay the whole contribution yourself: for ₹1,000 a month, ₹42 a month if you join at 18 or ₹291 if you join at 40; for ₹5,000, ₹210 to ₹1,454 a month (Annex-1). The 50% government co-contribution applied only to those who joined before 31 Dec 2015, for 2015-16 to 2019-20 (para 5) — it is closed. Income-tax payers cannot join (PIB, Ministry of Finance, 9 May 2026: “open to all bank account holders in the age group of 18 to 40 years who are not income tax payers”). Small and marginal landowners may prefer PM-KMY, where the government matches your contribution.
Who can apply
- All applicants
Papers you need
- A savings bank account
How to apply
- Give the APY application form at the bank where you have a savings account (any bank, including regional rural and cooperative banks) or at a post office on the CBS platform (Notification para 7–8).
- Choose the pension (₹1,000 to ₹5,000 a month) and whether to pay monthly, quarterly or half-yearly; the contribution is fixed by your age at joining (para 3(i), 4; Annex-1).
- Keep the balance for the auto-debit until you turn 60; late payments attract overdue interest set by PFRDA (para 4, 9).
Applying is free. Never pay anyone to apply for you.
When to apply
The guidelines set no closing date.
Combining with other schemes
The documents do not say whether this can be combined with other schemes. Ask the implementing office before you count on both.