Atal Pension Yojana (APY) Calculator
The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is a government-backed pension scheme for Indian workers in the unorganised sector. Pick your entry age and the monthly pension you want at age 60, and this calculator shows your required monthly, quarterly, and half-yearly contribution, the total you will invest over the years, the guaranteed corpus your nominee receives, and a year-by-year wealth-accumulation chart.
What is the Atal Pension Yojana (APY)?
The Atal Pension Yojana is a government-backed pension scheme launched in 2015 by the Ministry of Finance, administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). It targets workers in the unorganised sector who lack access to employer-sponsored retirement benefits. Any Indian citizen aged 18 to 40 with a savings bank account can enrol. In return for a fixed monthly contribution, PFRDA guarantees a monthly pension of Rs 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, or 5,000 from the age of 60 onwards. If the subscriber dies after 60, the spouse continues to receive the same pension for life. If both pass away, the accumulated corpus is returned to the nominee as a lump sum.
How is the APY contribution calculated?
APY does not use a single formula; the government publishes a fixed contribution schedule that takes three inputs: your age at the time of joining, the monthly pension amount you select, and how often you pay. The schedule is built on an assumed 8% annualised return on the pension corpus. For example, a 25-year-old who wants Rs 3,000 per month pays Rs 226 monthly for 35 years (420 months), totalling Rs 94,920. The guaranteed corpus for the Rs 3,000 tier is Rs 5.1 lakh, which is roughly 5.4 times the total invested. Joining earlier results in a smaller monthly contribution but a longer payment period, while joining later requires a higher monthly amount over fewer years. The corpus guarantee is the same for all subscribers in the same tier regardless of entry age.
Contribution frequency - monthly, quarterly, and half-yearly
APY contributions are auto-debited from your linked savings account. The default is monthly, but PFRDA also permits quarterly and half-yearly deductions for account holders whose income is seasonal. The quarterly and half-yearly amounts are prescribed separately in Annex-1 of the scheme document and are slightly less than three and six times the monthly slab, because money paid in advance earns an extra period of return. A 25-year-old on the Rs 3,000 tier pays Rs 226 monthly, Rs 674 quarterly (not Rs 678) or Rs 1,334 half-yearly (not Rs 1,356), so over 35 years the half-yearly route costs about Rs 1,540 less in total. If your account lacks sufficient balance on the debit date, a penalty is levied. Missing contributions can be restored by paying the arrears plus a penalty of Rs 1 per Rs 100 of contribution per month of default.
Tax benefit and eligibility rules
APY contributions qualify for a deduction under Section 80CCD(1) of the Income Tax Act, within the overall Rs 1.5 lakh ceiling of Section 80C. An additional deduction of up to Rs 50,000 is available under Section 80CCD(1B), over and above the 80C limit. The one eligibility bar added in recent years is on income-tax payers: from 1 October 2022, any citizen who is or has been an income-tax payer is not eligible to join APY. Membership of another statutory social security scheme such as EPF, NPS or ESIC does not by itself disqualify you from opening an APY account. If someone who joined on or after 1 October 2022 is later found to have been an income-tax payer on or before the date of application, the account is closed and the accumulated pension wealth is returned to the subscriber.
Official APY monthly contribution chart (all entry ages)
| Entry age | Rs 1,000/mo | Rs 2,000/mo | Rs 3,000/mo | Rs 4,000/mo | Rs 5,000/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 42 | 84 | 126 | 168 | 210 |
| 19 | 46 | 92 | 138 | 183 | 228 |
| 20 | 50 | 100 | 150 | 198 | 248 |
| 21 | 54 | 108 | 162 | 215 | 269 |
| 22 | 59 | 117 | 177 | 234 | 292 |
| 23 | 64 | 127 | 192 | 254 | 318 |
| 24 | 70 | 139 | 208 | 277 | 346 |
| 25 | 76 | 151 | 226 | 301 | 376 |
| 26 | 82 | 164 | 246 | 327 | 409 |
| 27 | 90 | 178 | 268 | 356 | 446 |
| 28 | 97 | 194 | 292 | 388 | 485 |
| 29 | 106 | 212 | 318 | 423 | 529 |
| 30 | 116 | 231 | 347 | 462 | 577 |
| 31 | 126 | 252 | 379 | 504 | 630 |
| 32 | 138 | 276 | 414 | 551 | 689 |
| 33 | 151 | 302 | 453 | 602 | 752 |
| 34 | 165 | 330 | 495 | 659 | 824 |
| 35 | 181 | 362 | 543 | 722 | 902 |
| 36 | 198 | 396 | 594 | 792 | 990 |
| 37 | 218 | 436 | 654 | 870 | 1087 |
| 38 | 240 | 480 | 720 | 957 | 1196 |
| 39 | 264 | 528 | 792 | 1054 | 1318 |
| 40 | 291 | 582 | 873 | 1164 | 1454 |
Government-prescribed monthly contribution (INR) for every entry age and pension tier, from Annex-1 of the Ministry of Finance APY scheme document. Quarterly and half-yearly amounts are prescribed separately and are slightly less than 3x and 6x these figures.
Frequently asked questions
Who is eligible to join APY?
Any Indian citizen aged 18 to 40 who holds a savings bank account or post-office savings account can enrol. The single added restriction is that from 1 October 2022, any citizen who is or has been an income-tax payer is not eligible to join. Belonging to another statutory social security scheme such as EPF or NPS does not by itself bar you from opening an APY account.
Can I change my pension tier after joining?
Yes. PFRDA allows subscribers to upgrade or downgrade their pension tier once per financial year, for a service charge of Rs 50. When you switch tiers, your contribution is adjusted to the new slab for your current age, not your original entry age, so the monthly amount will differ from what the chart shows for a fresh joiner at the same age.
What happens if I die before age 60?
If a subscriber dies before reaching age 60, the spouse can either continue the APY account by making contributions until the deceased would have turned 60 and then receive the pension, or opt to withdraw the accumulated corpus immediately. The nominee (typically the spouse) is entitled to the full guaranteed corpus for the chosen pension tier, regardless of how much was actually contributed.
Is the Rs 5,000 monthly pension enough for retirement?
At 2026 price levels, Rs 5,000 per month covers basic living expenses for a single person in a tier-3 or rural area, but is unlikely to be sufficient on its own in a metro city. APY is best thought of as a floor guarantee, not a complete retirement plan. Consider pairing it with voluntary NPS contributions, mutual fund SIPs, or other savings instruments to build a larger retirement corpus.
What is the guaranteed corpus and how is it different from total contributions?
The guaranteed corpus is the lump-sum pension wealth PFRDA promises at age 60, ranging from Rs 1.7 lakh (Rs 1,000 pension tier) to Rs 8.5 lakh (Rs 5,000 pension tier). This corpus generates the monthly pension through annuity. It is guaranteed by the government regardless of actual fund performance. Your total contributions are simply the sum of all the payments you make over the years; the corpus is typically 4-6 times that total for younger entrants, reflecting 30-42 years of compounding at 8%.
Can NRI (Non-Resident Indians) join APY?
No. APY is open only to resident Indian citizens. NRIs are not eligible to enrol or continue contributions once they become non-resident. If an existing subscriber becomes an NRI, the account will be closed and the accumulated corpus returned.
How do I enrol in APY?
You can enrol at any bank branch or post office where you hold a savings account, or through your bank's mobile or internet banking app. You need your Aadhaar number, linked mobile number, and existing savings account details. The registration form is available at the bank or on the eNPS portal (enps.nsdl.com).