How to join (Apply) Atal Pension Yojana?

How to join Atal Pension Yojana?

Atal Pension Yojana is a new scheme started by the current government to ensure that those working in unorganized sector enjoy the pension scheme by starting their savings immediately.  Those who are eligible as per Atal Pension Yojana can get a pension of Rs one thousand to five thousand after 60 years of age.

There is no restriction on who can join the Atal Pension Yojana.  Anyone who is within the age of 18 to 40 years is free to join the scheme.  Those who intend to join should have a saving bank account.  For those who do not have a saving bank account can open the same in any of the nationalized banks under Jan Dhan Yojana and they would not have to pay anything to open the account.

How to join Atal Pension Yojana

  • The subscriber needs to contact the bank where he wants to open the account
  • Ask for Atal Pension Yojana Form and fill it correctly
  • The form would ask for your mobile number and your Aadhar number.
  • Every subscriber should keep the minimum balance ready in their account so that on the day of auto-debit the account should have that amount.

If you want to enroll for Atal Pension Yojana, Aadhar card is a mandatory KYC document.  If you don’t have an Aadhar Card, you can apply for it through the special camps running for creation of Aadhar cards.

The mode of contribution of APY is only through electronic auto-debit facility.  This means that every month the fixed contribution would be deducted from the saving account that is linked to the scheme.

If a subscriber fails to maintain the minimum essential balance in their Jan Dhan Account, he/she would have to pay a prescribed fine.  If this happens over a period of time, the account may also get suspended or terminated altogether.

Atal Pension Scheme is for everyone.  But It specifically targets the weaker income group of the society and people who are working as laborers in unorganized sectors of the economy. This way, they can contribute a small amount every month and secure their old age.  APY is not suitable for those who have decent incomes, since the pension payouts may not be sufficient to meet their needs in old age.

Other Articles

  1. APY Exit Policy
  2. How to Join APY
  3. APY Penalty