Previous Year Question
Regarding ‘Atal Pension Yojana’, which of the following statements is/are correct?
It is a minimum guaranteed pension scheme mainly targeted at unorganised-sector workers.
Only one member of a family can join the scheme.
The same amount of pension is guaranteed for the spouse for life after the subscriber’s death.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
1 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
The Government of India launched the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) on 9 May 2015. It is administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) through the NPS architecture.
Statement 1 is correct. The scheme was primarily introduced to provide a minimum guaranteed old-age pension to workers in the unorganised sector.
After reaching the age of 60, a subscriber receives a minimum guaranteed monthly pension of:
₹1,000
₹2,000
₹3,000
₹4,000 or
₹5,000
depending on the pension option selected and contributions made. The required contribution depends on the subscriber’s age at entry and the pension chosen. A person joining at a younger age makes a comparatively lower monthly contribution.
Statement 2 is incorrect. The scheme does not restrict enrolment to only one member of a family. More than one eligible family member, including both husband and wife, may open separate APY accounts if each satisfies the eligibility conditions.
Statement 3 is correct. After the subscriber’s death, the spouse is entitled to receive the same monthly pension for life. After the death of both the subscriber and spouse, the accumulated pension corpus is returned to the nominee.
The original eligibility conditions included Indian citizenship, an entry age of 18 to 40 years, and a savings-bank or post-office savings account.
Current status (2026)
Atal Pension Yojana remains operational. The Union Cabinet has approved continuation of the scheme and extension of government support for promotional and developmental activities and gap funding up to financial year 2030-31.
An important change in the current framework is that, from 1 October 2022, a person who is or has been an income-tax payer on the date of application is not eligible to open a new APY account. This restriction does not automatically remove an existing subscriber who becomes an income-tax payer after joining.