Atal Pension Yojana Crosses Over 3 crore Subscriber Base by March; 79 Lakh New Additions in FY21

On Thursday, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) announced that the number of Atal Pension Yojana (APY) subscribers had surpassed three million by the end of March 2021, with > 79 lakh new subscribers joining the scheme in 2020-21.

In FY21, > 79 lakh new Atal Pension Yojana (APY) subscribers joined, bringing the overall enrolments to over 3.02 crore as of March 31, 2021, according to PFRDA.

Around 70% of the 3.02 crore accounts opened under APY were opened by public sector banks, while 19% were sourced by regional rural banks.

The rate of enrolment has been encouraging, particularly in the second half of FY21, when it required less than six months to enrol 50 lakh new APY subscribers, bringing the total number of APY subscribers to 3 crore from 2.5 crore, according to PFRDA.

SBI accounted for 28% of the 79.14 lakh new additions in FY21, or 22.07 lakh subscribers, led by Canara Bank and Indian Bank, which accounted for 5.89 lakh and 5.17 lakh subscribers, respectively.

Between 1 and 5 lakh new APY accounts were opened by Bank of Baroda, Airtel Payment Bank, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Aryavart Bank, and Baroda UP Bank in 2020-21.

SBI, Indian Bank, Bank of India, Vidarbh Konkan Gramin Bank, Jharkhand Rajya Gramin Bank, Karnataka Gramin Vikas Bank, and Tripura Gramin Vikas Bank all performed good.

The Uttarbanga Kshetriya Gramin Bank, Asaam Gramin Vikas Bank, Bangiya Gramin Vikas Bank, Aryavart Bank, and Tamilnad Mercantile Bank all performed well this year, exceeding the goals allocated by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.

As of March 31, 2021, over 20 lakh APY subscribers had been enrolled in 5 states, according to the scheme’s state-by-state rollout.

According to the PFRDA, Uttar Pradesh leads with 45.4 lakh APY enrolments, followed by Bihar with 28.22 lakh, West Bengal with 23.92 lakh, Maharashtra with 23.17 lakh, and Tamil Nadu with 22.57 lakh APY enrolments so far.

By the end of March 2021, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Odisha had enrolled between 10 and 20 lakh people in the APY.

Furthermore, the regulator stated that over the last six years, the preference for a monthly pension of Rs. 1,000 (US$ 13.31) has increased.

As of March 31, 2021, about 77% of APY subscribers had chosen a Rs. 1,000 (US$ 13.31) monthly pension amount, compared to 38% who had chosen a Rs. 1,000 (US$ 13.31) monthly pension amount as of March 31, 2016, according to the statement.

According to the PFRDA, the gender gap in APY subscription has narrowed as female subscribers have increased.

Between 2016 and 2021, the percentage of female subscribers increased from 37% to 44%.

The age profile of APY subscribers also shows a pattern of younger enrolment, according to the regulator.

More than 43% of subscribers enrolled on March 31, 2021, were between the ages of 18 and 25, up from 29% on March 31, 2016.

PFRDA has announced new measures, including the addition of new functionality to the APY mobile app and their availability in the UMANG app, as well as the updating of APY FAQs, APY Subscriber Information Brochure, and APY Citizen Charter, all of which are available in 13 regional languages.

These are aimed at increasing APY scheme awareness and benefiting both APY customers and APY service providers.

The government’s two flapship pension schemes, NPS and APY, are administered by the authority.

APY went into effect in June 2015 in order to establish a universal social security system for all, especially the poor, disadvantaged, and unorganised sector employees.

After reaching the age of 60, subscribers can receive a monthly pension ranging from Rs. 1,000 (US$ 13.31) to Rs. 2,000 (US$ 26.63), Rs. 3,000 (US$ 39.94), Rs. 4,000 (US$ 53.26), and Rs. 5,000 (US$ 66.57), depending on their contribution during the subscription period. APY is open to those between the ages of 18 and 40.

Except for the armed forces, the NPS was implemented in January 2004 as a fixed contribution based pension scheme for union and state government employees, replacing the existing system of defined benefit based pension scheme.

From May 2009, it was voluntarily expanded to all citizens of the country, including self-employed professionals and those in the unorganised market.

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Source: IBEF

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