PM Narendra Modi government is mulling significant changes in Atal Pension Yojana (APY), in accordance with fresh proposals sent by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

Atal Pension Yojana: PM Narendra Modi government is mulling significant changes in Atal Pension Yojana (APY), in accordance with fresh proposals sent by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). The proposals include: a) increasing the current pension limit of Rs 5000/month under APY to Rs 10,000 per month. b) The PFRDA has also asked the government to consider automatic enrollment of citizens in APY. c) Raising the maximum age bar under the scheme up to 50 years.

At present, the maximum age bar under APY is 40 years. Anyone between 18-40 years of age can subscribe to APY. Also, the current maximum pension limit per month under APY is Rs 5000. This is provided under five slabs – starting from Rs 1000. Also, the enrollment under APY is not automatic.

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At a PFRDA conference on Tuesday, Madnesh Kumar Mishra, Joint Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS), acknowledged the need to increase the maximum pension amount under APY. “We have seen the proposal (sent by PFRDA) of increasing the pension value to (up to) Rs 10,000 per month and it is under our active examination,” PTI quoted Mishra as saying on the sidelines of the event.

According to PFRDY Chairman Hemant G Contractor, the proposals were sent to the Finance Ministry with an aim to increase APY subscriber base. “Currently, we have five slabs of pension from Rs 1,000-5000 per month. There have been a lot of feedback from the market asking for higher pension amounts because many people feel that Rs 5,000 at the age of 60 years, 20-30 years from now, will not be sufficient. We have placed this proposal with the government that it should be increased to up to Rs 10,000,” Contractor was quoted as saying.

There are 1.02 crore subscribers of APY at present.