Regarding ‘Atal Pension Yojana’, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is a minimum guaranteed pension scheme mainly targeted at unorganized sector workers.
2. Only one member of a family can join the scheme.
3. Same amount of pension is guaranteed for the spouse for life after subscriber’s death.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2016 Prelims]

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (c)        

Explanation:

• Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is a pension scheme introduced by the Government of India in 2015–16 to provide pension benefits to individuals in the unorganized sector.
• The scheme is regulated by the Pension Funds Regulatory Authority of India (PFRDA).
• It is available for individuals between the ages of 18 and 40 and offers periodic pension options ranging from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000, based on monthly contributions.
• In the event of the subscriber’s death before reaching 60 years of age, their spouse has the choice to continue receiving the pension or withdraw the accumulated corpus.
• The spouse will receive the same pension amount even after the subscriber’s death.