Govt releases Rs 120.92 cr as co-contribution towards APY

New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday announced the release of Rs 120.92 crores towards its Atal Pension Yojana scheme.

As per the Ministry of Finance, the government, through the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), released co-contribution for FY 2016-17 for nearly 14 lakh eligible subscribers, amounting to Rs 120.92 crores.

The subscribers who have any pending contributions in their APY account till March 2017 won't be paid with co-contribution, and were subsequently advised to regularise their APY account so as to get the government's co-contribution.

"Government of India co-contribution is payable only when accounts are regular and the admissible. Government of India co-contribution is paid into the Savings Bank account of the Subscribers," an official statement said.

The main responsibility of implementing the above scheme is of APY Service Providers comprising of Public Sector Banks(PSBs), Private Sector Banks, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Cooperative Banks and Department of Post both in urban and rural areas across the country.

The scheme provides for a co-contribution from the government for those who have registered before March 31, 2016, with an amount of 50 per cent of the subscribers contribution up to a maximum of Rs 1000. These subscribers will be eligible for co-contribution for a period five years from 2015-16 to 2019-20, and will include only those who are not income tax payers and not part of any other social security schemes.

For those unversed, the APY provides minimum guaranteed pension ranging between Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 per month for subscribers from the age of 60 years.