Income taxpayers had to join the pension scheme Atal Pension Yojana (APY) before 1 October as per the guidelines of the Finance Ministry. But now that the date has passed, they are not eligible for this programme anymore. Under the APY scheme, a choice of individuals get a minimum monthly pension of Rs 1000, Rs 2000, Rs 3000, Rs 4000 and Rs 5000 per month after the age of 60 years. APY focuses on Indian citizens in the unorganised sector. Individuals between the age of 18 and 40 years are eligible to become the subscribers of this central government scheme. A taxpayer is an individual who is liable for paying income tax in line with the Income Tax Act, 1961, as amended from time.
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APY was launched on 9 May, 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) administers this scheme through the National Pension System (NPS) structure. APY subscribers are able to upgrade or downgrade their pension amount once in a financial year. This feature enables the user to check the differential amount to be deposited or received back according to the new guaranteed pension amount chosen. Higher amount is required to be deposited in case of upgrade, and additional contribution is going to be returned to the subscribers in case of down grade.
If the APY account subscriber passes away before the age of 60 years, his/her spouse can contribute to the account. The APY account can be maintained in the spouse’s name. If the spouse doesn’t want to continue the account, then the accumulated pension wealth will be refunded. If the APY account subscriber passes away after the age of 60 years, the monthly guaranteed pension shall be payable to the spouse of the subscriber. In the absence or subsequent death of the spouse, the accumulated pension wealth shall be payable to the nominee of the subscriber.
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The nominee is someone other than the spouse of the subscriber. APY mobile app is available on Google Play Store. On this app, transaction statements and e-PRAN can be downloaded anytime without paying any fees. Recent 5 contributions can also be checked there. It can be found on play store by typing “APY and NPS Lite” on its search bar.
