Atal Pension Yojana Eligibility
In his Budget Speech for the year 2015-16, the Finance Minister of India has declared the launch of a new scheme. The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) aims at bringing the workers in the unorganized sector to join the National Pension System (NPS), which is run by a pension governing authority named the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) of India. However, the interested citizens should not be a member of any other social security system.
The basic eligibility criteria of the Atal Pension Yojana need an individual to be an Indian citizen within the age group of 18 to 40 years to join the scheme. Thereby, APY allow scheme holders to contribute for at least 20 years before gaining its benefits. The Scheme is open to any bank account holder who is not associated with any other social security system.
The Atal Pension Yojana is replacing the Swavalamban scheme, which was unsuccessful in gaining ample popularity among the citizens of the country. The government plans to automatically transfer the existing subscribers of the Swavalamban Scheme to Atal Pension Yojana. However, those who are interested in withdrawing from the scheme can do so.
Citizens with a bank account can sign up for the APY by filling in an authorisation form, which they need to submit at their bank. The form includes all the details of the individual including his/her account number and spouse/nominee details. It also consists of the authorisation for auto debit of contribution amount.
The interested account holder joining the scheme needs to maintain sufficient balance in the account every month that needs to be deducted towards the scheme. If an account holder is unable to maintain the required amount he/she would attract a monthly fine depending on the amount to be contributed every month.
The Atal Pension Yojana has already started from 1st June, 2015.
Other Articles