According to the contribution chart for Atal Pension Yojana, an 18-year-old opting for the highest available pension of ₹5,000 monthly needs to contribute only ₹210 every month. This amount increases significantly with age, rising to ₹376 monthly for someone joining at 25 and ₹577 monthly for those starting at 30. The contribution burden becomes most severe for those joining at 40, who must contribute ₹1,454 monthly for 20 years to achieve the same ₹5,000 pension.
The contribution difference translates into substantial savings over the full contribution period. An 18-year-old contributing ₹210 monthly for 42 years would contribute approximately ₹1.06 lakh total. A 30-year-old paying ₹577 monthly for 30 years would contribute around ₹2.08 lakh. For someone joining at 40, the ₹1,454 monthly contribution for 20 years amounts to roughly ₹3.49 lakh in total contributions. These calculations are based on prescribed monthly contributions and do not represent the actual pension corpus.
Once subscribers reach 60 and fulfill contribution requirements, they receive the chosen guaranteed minimum pension for life. In this example, the subscriber would receive ₹5,000 monthly for life. After the subscriber's death, the spouse is entitled to receive the same monthly pension. Following the death of both subscriber and spouse, the pension wealth is returned to the nominee. For the ₹5,000 pension slab, the APY contribution chart shows an indicative corpus of ₹8.5 lakh for the nominee.
APY can be opened by eligible Indian citizens between 18 and 40 years of age who have a savings bank account or post office savings account. However, from October 1, 2022, income-tax payers cannot open new APY accounts, though existing eligible subscribers are not affected by this rule. Contributions can be made monthly, quarterly, or half-yearly through auto-debit from bank or post office savings accounts. The scheme allows eligible workers to build a predictable basic pension after 60 with guaranteed minimum monthly pensions ranging from ₹1,000 to ₹5,000.
