**Executive Summary**
The document announces that the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) surpassed a historic milestone of 9 crore total gross enrolments on April 21, 2026. During the 2025–26 financial year, the scheme recorded its highest-ever annual growth with over 1.35 crore new subscribers. Administered by the PFRDA, this voluntary social security scheme continues to expand its reach to the unorganized sector through a decade of sustained government and institutional support.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Enrolment Milestones**
* Total gross enrolments exceeded 9 crore as of April 21, 2026.
* Financial Year 2025–26 saw record-breaking growth with 1.35 crore new subscribers, the highest since the scheme’s inception in 2015.
* **Scheme Benefits (Triple Benefits)**
* Provides a guaranteed monthly pension ranging from ₹1,000 to ₹5,000 upon reaching 60 years of age.
* Ensures the same pension amount continues to the spouse after the subscriber’s death.
* Facilitates the return of the full accumulated corpus to the nominee following the death of both the subscriber and the spouse.
* **Eligibility Criteria**
* Open to all Indian citizens between the ages of 18 and 40.
* Individuals who are or have been income tax payers are excluded from the scheme.
* **Administration and Implementation**
* The scheme is administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
* Expansion is driven by a network of Public Sector Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Private Banks, Small Finance Banks, Co-operative banks, and the Department of Posts.
* Growth is supported by multilingual awareness campaigns, capacity-building programs, and regular performance reviews conducted by the PFRDA.
**Impact Analysis**
**Indian Citizens (Unorganized Sector)**
**Impact**
Eligible individuals gain access to a "Complete Security Shield" (Sampurna Suraksha Kavach), providing guaranteed financial security for themselves, their spouses, and their nominees.
**Action Required**
Eligible citizens between 18 and 40 years old must enroll in the contributory scheme to secure a pension for their retirement.
**Banking and Postal Institutions**
**Impact**
Banks (PSBs, RRBs, Private, SFBs, Co-operative) and the Department of Posts act as the primary engines for outreach and scheme implementation.
**Action Required**
These institutions must continue sustained outreach initiatives, participate in capacity-building programs, and undergo regular performance reviews to expand the scheme's footprint.
**Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)**
**Impact**
As the administrator, the PFRDA is responsible for the strategic growth and the achievement of the 9 crore enrolment milestone.
**Action Required**
Must maintain proactive roles in expanding the scheme through media campaigns, multilingual materials, and performance monitoring across all states and districts.
Key Entities Referenced
Atal Pension Yojana (APY): A flagship voluntary, contributory social security scheme launched by the Government of India primarily for workers in the unorganized sector.
Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA): The regulatory body responsible for administering and expanding the footprint of the Atal Pension Yojana.
Ministry of Finance: The central ministry under whose jurisdiction the Atal Pension Yojana operates and reports its milestones.
Department of Posts (DoP): A key implementation partner providing outreach and driving enrolments for the pension scheme.
Ministry of Finance
Atal Pension Yojana (APY) Crosses Historic
Milestone: Total Gross Enrolments Surpass 9
Crore
Gross enrolments during FY 2025–26 cross 1.35 crore
subscribers, marking highest-ever enrolments recorded in a
single financial year since the inception of the scheme
Posted On: 22 APR 2026 3:45PM by PIB Delhi
The Atal Pension Yojana (APY), a flagship social security scheme of the Government of India
administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), has achieved a
historic milestone by surpassing total gross enrolments of 9 crore subscribers on 21st April, 2026.
In a further testament to the scheme’s growing outreach and impact, gross enrolments during the Financial
Year 2025–26 have crossed 1.35 crore subscribers, marking the highest-ever enrolments recorded in a
single financial year since the inception of the scheme.
Launched on May 9, 2015, with the vision of establishing a universal social security system for all
Indians, APY is a voluntary, contributory pension scheme primarily focused on the poor, the
underprivileged, and workers in the unorganized sector. Over the past decade, the scheme has witnessed
remarkable growth, driven by sustained efforts of Banks (PSBs/RRBs/Private Banks/SFBs/Co-operative
banks), SLBCs/UTLBCs/LDMs, the Department of Posts (DoP) and continuous support from the
Government of India. PFRDA has played a proactive role in expanding the scheme’s footprint across all
states and districts in the country, through extensive outreach initiatives, capacity-building programs,
multilingual awareness materials, media campaigns, and regular performance reviews.
APY is designed to provide a ‘Sampurna Suraksha Kavach’ (Complete Security Shield) by ensuring the
following triple benefits: - First, a guaranteed monthly pension ranging from ₹1,000 to ₹5,000 for
subscribers after attaining 60 years of age; Second, same pension continues to the spouse after the
subscriber’s demise and third, the return of the corpus accumulated till the age of 60, to the nominee after
the death of both. The scheme is open to all Indian citizens between the age of 18 and 40 years, except
those who are or have been income tax payers.
“APY ka Saath hai to Jeevan ka Suraksha Kavach Saath hai”
(“एपीवाई का साथ ह,ै तो जीवन का सुरा कवच साथ ह।ै ”)****
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