Can an income-tax payer join Atal Pension Yojana?

No. Since 1 October 2022, anyone who is or has been an income-tax payer cannot join. If such a person opens an account after that date, it is closed and the contributions are returned.

What is the maximum pension under APY?

₹5,000 a month. The scheme offers fixed slabs of ₹1,000, ₹2,000, ₹3,000, ₹4,000 and ₹5,000.

Is the APY pension increased with inflation?

No. The pension stays at the slab you choose, so its real value falls over time.

What happens if I stop paying?

Overdue amounts attract a small penalty, so restart the auto-debit as soon as you can. If you exit voluntarily before 60, you get back your own contributions with the returns earned on them, minus charges.

Is APY still open for new members?

Yes. In January 2026 the Union Cabinet extended the scheme until the end of 2030-31.

Atal Pension Yojana (APY) explained

Updated 11 October 2026

Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is a government-backed scheme that guarantees a fixed pension of ₹1,000, ₹2,000, ₹3,000, ₹4,000 or ₹5,000 a month from age 60. You join between 18 and 40 through your bank or post office and pay a fixed amount until 60; the younger you join, the less you pay. Since 1 October 2022, anyone who is or has been an income-tax payer cannot join.

Who can join

Indian citizens aged 18 to 40 with a savings account in a bank or post office.
Not an income-tax payer, now or in the past. If such a person opens an account after 1 October 2022, it is closed and the contributions are returned.
You pay for at least 20 years, which is why 40 is the last age to join.

The scheme is regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and was launched in May 2015. In January 2026 the Union Cabinet extended it until the end of 2030-31, and gross enrolments crossed 9 crore by April 2026.

How to join

Go to the bank or post office branch where you have your savings account and fill in the APY registration form with your Aadhaar, mobile number, nominee and the pension amount you want. Many banks also let you enrol through net banking or their mobile app. The first contribution is debited when you join, and later ones are taken by auto-debit, so you do not have to remember due dates.

Contribution chart

Your monthly contribution depends on your age at joining and the pension you pick. Selected rows from the official chart:

Age at joining	Years of paying	₹1,000 pension	₹2,000	₹3,000	₹4,000	₹5,000
18	42	₹42	₹84	₹126	₹168	₹210
20	40	₹50	₹100	₹150	₹198	₹248
25	35	₹76	₹151	₹226	₹301	₹376
30	30	₹116	₹231	₹347	₹462	₹577
35	25	₹181	₹362	₹543	₹722	₹902
40	20	₹291	₹582	₹873	₹1,164	₹1,454
Paid to nominee		₹1.7 lakh	₹3.4 lakh	₹5.1 lakh	₹6.8 lakh	₹8.5 lakh

You can also pay quarterly or half-yearly, at the matching higher amounts.

What your family gets

After you, your spouse gets the same monthly pension for life. After both of you, your nominee receives the amount in the last row of the chart: ₹1.7 lakh for the ₹1,000 option, rising to ₹8.5 lakh for the ₹5,000 option. If you die before 60, your spouse can either keep paying into your account for the remaining years and then draw the same pension, or close it and take the money built up so far.

Worked example. Ravi, 25, chooses the ₹5,000 pension. He pays ₹376 a month for 35 years: ₹376 × 12 × 35 = ₹1,57,920 in all. From 60 he receives ₹5,000 a month, or ₹60,000 a year, so his total contributions come back in about 2.6 years of pension (₹1,57,920 ÷ ₹60,000). The pension is fixed, though. At 6% inflation, ₹5,000 received 35 years from now buys roughly what ₹650 buys today (₹5,000 ÷ 1.06³⁵, and 1.06³⁵ is about 7.69).

Paying, changing and leaving

Auto-debit: the bank deducts your contribution on schedule. Keep enough balance, because overdue amounts attract a small penalty.
Changing the pension: you can move to a higher or lower pension slab once a year, and your contribution changes with it.
Leaving early: you can exit voluntarily before 60, but you get back only your own contributions with the returns earned on them, minus charges. Any government co-contribution is not refunded to you.
At 60: apply to the same bank or post office to start the pension.

Early joiners in 2015-16 who were not taxpayers also got a government co-contribution of half their contribution, up to ₹1,000 a year, for five years. That offer has ended.

Tax treatment

APY contributions count as NPS contributions for the old-regime deductions (formerly sections 80CCD(1) and 80CCD(1B); in the Income-tax Act, 2025 your own contribution counts within the ₹1.5 lakh limit of section 123, and the extra ₹50,000 is section 124(3)). That matters only to subscribers who joined before October 2022 and pay tax now, and only in the old regime: the new regime gives no deduction for your own contributions. The pension you receive at 60 is taxable income, though most APY pensioners earn below the taxable limit.

APY or NPS?

APY suits people with modest or irregular income who want a guaranteed, if small, pension. NPS has no fixed payout because it is market-linked, but it can be joined up to age 70 and is open to taxpayers. If you pay income tax, APY is closed to you, so look at NPS and its tax benefits instead. For children, see NPS Vatsalya, and for how NPS money is paid out, NPS withdrawal rules.