The Atal Pension Yojana is a new pension scheme started by the Government of India to help applicants pay a cash amount to the pension account to fund their retirement when they reach the age of 60 years. The main idea is to provide assured returns.
Now the new rule says that any subscriber can exit Atal Pension Yojana provided they give up on the contribution given by the government and also the net actual interest earned on his/her contributions.
The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) scheme was launched in 2015 with the main aim of helping individuals in the unorganised sector. All operations of the APY scheme are handled by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). Under the scheme, unorganised sector workers can save money towards their retirement on a voluntary basis. Enrolling for the scheme at an early age helps in saving more money for retirement. The minimum and maximum ages to opt for the scheme are 18 years and 40 years, respectively.
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Steps to exit from the APY scheme
The steps to exit from the APY scheme are mentioned below:
- You must visit the bank where the Atal Pension Yojana account is held.
- The closure form must be filled and submitted.
- Once the form is submitted, you must wait for all the procedures to be completed.
- Once the closure is processed by the bank, the money available in the account along with the interest that has been generated will be transferred into the bank account that was provided by you. A notification will also be sent by the bank.
Withdrawal procedure from the APY scheme
The different methods to exit from the APY scheme are mentioned below:
In case the subscriber attains the age of 60 years:
Once the subscriber has attained the age of 60 years, he/she must submit a request at the bank where the APY account is held to withdraw the higher monthly pension or guaranteed minimum monthly pension. The subscriber will receive a higher monthly pension in case the returns are higher than the guaranteed returns. In case the subscriber passes away, the same amount of monthly pension will be paid to the spouse, who is the default nominee. Any other nominee will be eligible to receive the pension amount in case both the subscriber and the spouse pass away.
In case a subscriber passes away after attaining the age of 60 years:
In case the subscriber passes away after attaining the age of 60 years, the spouse will receive the pension amount. The nominee will receive the pension amount upon the death of both the subscriber and his/her spouse.
Exit from the APY scheme before attaining the age of 60 years:
Under the APY scheme, voluntary exit is allowed. In case the subscriber has opted for the APY scheme along with a co-contribution from the government and opts for a voluntary exit from the APY scheme at a future date, he/she shall receive the contributions that were made towards the scheme along with the net actual income that was earned. However, account maintenance charges will be deducted. The contribution made by the government along with the net actual income that is earned on the contribution will not be refunded back.
In case the subscriber passes away before attaining the age of 60 years:
In case the subscriber passes away before attaining the age of 60 years, the spouse will have the option to continue the account. The account will be in the name of the spouse and contributions have to be made till the original subscriber would have attained the age of 60 years. The pension amount that the spouse will receive will be the same as what the subscriber would have received.
In case the spouse does not opt to continue the scheme, the entire corpus that has been accumulated in the APY account will be returned to the spouse or nominee.
