Atal Pension Yojana Extended Till FY31, What Does It Offer

The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) will continue till the financial year 2030-31. The government extended the social security scheme that guaranteed a fixed monthly pension for life to subscribers. On January 21, 2026, the cabinet approved the extension of APY till FY 2030-31, along with providing funding support for developmental and promotional activities. The scheme, which is designed to ensure social security for unorganised sector workers, provides a guaranteed monthly pension starting in four slabs: Rs 1,000, Rs 2,000, Rs 3,000, Rs 4,000, and Rs 5,000.

Atal Pension Yojana (APY)

It was launched in May 2015 for workers in the unorganised sector who want to receive a guaranteed income in old age. APY has given an around 8.80 per cent return since inception as of January 21, 2026. Per the announcement, now the scheme is open until 2030-31.  

Although there are other social security schemes as well to ensure pension security for subscribers, they do not always cover the unorganised sector workers. For example, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) covers only those in jobs and not self-employed people or those working in organisations having fewer than 20 employees.

The National Pension System (NPS) is available for all, but it doesn’t provide a guaranteed return; however, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the regulatory authority for both NPS and APY, has recently formed an expert committee to evaluate the scheme and suggest recommendations to provide an assured return. NPS has around 21.77 million subscribers as of December 2025, including both government and non-government subscribers.

How Does An APY Account Work?

To apply to the scheme, an applicant must be between 18 and 40 years old. The applicant needs to choose a pension amount out of the five brackets from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000. Based on the pension amount, the contribution amount is fixed.

The scheme offers a guaranteed pension to subscribers after the age of 60, and to the spouse after the subscriber’s death.

After the spouse’s death, the accumulated savings till the age of 60 years are returned to the nominee.

Applicant should not fall in the income tax-payer category, and must have a bank account to receive the pension. The account can be opened with the post office and banks, including regional rural banks.

Over time, APY has become popular. Its subscriber base has grown from around 2.46 million in 2015-16 to 21.14 million in 2019-20, and 64.13 million in 2024-25, as per NPS Trust data. The number has further grown to 86.6 million as of January 19, 2026.