Atal Pension Yojana: Did you opt for a monthly pension of ₹3,000 under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY), but now you want to increase it to ₹5,000? If yes, then this news is for you. You can do this very easily. This government scheme, launched to provide financial security to the people of the unorganized sector, gives a great option of a monthly pension ranging from ₹1,000 to ₹5,000 after the age of 60. The best thing is that you can change your pension amount once a year. That is, you have the option to increase or decrease it every year.
Unique Features of Atal Pension Yojana
Atal Pension Yojana is a voluntary and government-backed retirement scheme, specially designed for those who are outside the organized sector and who do not have any formal pension system yet. Some of the key features of this scheme make it extremely attractive:
Eligibility
All Indian citizens between the age of 18 to 40 years can join this scheme, provided they are not currently or have ever been an income tax payer.
Long-Term Savings
The sooner a person joins this scheme, the lower is his monthly contribution amount, as this scheme is based on the principle of long term savings.
Government Guarantee
This scheme is backed by the government, which means that after the age of 60, you will get an assured pension, which secures your future.
Monthly Pension Options
Atal Pension Yojana offers 5 great options for monthly pension – ₹1,000, ₹2,000, ₹3,000, ₹4,000 and ₹5,000. You can choose any one of these options according to your age and financial condition!.This feature gives you the freedom to customize your pension plan as per your future needs.
Pension of ₹2000 or ₹3000 can be increased to ₹5000
You can increase your existing pension amount from ₹1,000 or ₹2,000 to ₹3,000, ₹4,000, or ₹5,000. The option to increase or decrease the pension amount in Atal Pension Yojana is given once during every financial year. This change can be made only in the “Accumulation Phase”, that is, in the period before the pension starts. This means that you can make this change in your pension amount before the age of 60. This flexibility makes this scheme even more useful.
How to upgrade your pension
If you initially registered for a monthly pension of ₹1,000, ₹2,000, or ₹3,000 under APY and now you want to receive a pension of ₹4,000 or ₹5,000, you will have to pay the fixed monthly contribution for the new monthly pension amount as per your current age.
What will happen if the pension amount changes
When you upgrade your pension amount, your monthly contribution amount will be re-fixed based on the new pension. On the other hand, if you reduce the pension amount, the excess amount deposited earlier will be returned to you along with interest. A nominal fee of ₹50 is charged for this change. This fee is to cover the procedural costs.
What to do to increase the pension
To increase your pension, you have to contact your bank or the Point of Presence (PoP) from where you enrolled for Atal Pension Yojana.
Go directly to your bank branch or PoP.
There you will have to fill out a form.
In this form, you will choose the new monthly pension amount.
Once the change is done, your next installment will be deducted based on the same new amount.