Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday (December 18) clarified to Parliament that there are no plans to increase the pension payouts under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY).
The announcement suggests that subscribers may need to consider substantially increasing their contributions if they aim for a higher pension under the scheme. The Atal Pension Yojana is set to continue in adherence to existing guidelines, with the pension amount capped at ₹5,000 per month.
The total enrolment under the Atal Pension Yojana has crossed 6 crore, with over 79 lakh additions this fiscal. Under the APY, the subscriber is eligible to get triple benefits of a lifelong monthly pension of Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 from the age of 60 years, depending on their contributions, which itself would vary based on the age of joining the APY.
The same pension would be paid to the spouse of the subscriber after his or her demise and on the demise of both the subscriber and the spouse, the pension wealth as accumulated till age 60 of the subscriber would be returned to the nominee.
The APY — a flagship social security scheme of the Government of India — was launched on May 9, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide old age income security to Indian citizens, with a particular focus on the poor, underprivileged, and workers in the unorganised sectors.
