About the Atal Pension Yojana Calculator
This Atal Pension Yojana (APY) calculator looks up the contribution you must pay for the guaranteed pension you choose, based on your age when you join. Pick a pension of ₹1,000, ₹2,000, ₹3,000, ₹4,000 or ₹5,000 a month from age 60, your entry age between 18 and 40 and how often you want to pay, and it returns the instalment from the official APY contribution chart, how many years you will pay, your total contributions and the indicative amount returned to your nominee.
APY is a Government of India pension scheme administered by PFRDA for citizens aged 18 to 40 with a savings account who are not, and have never been, income-tax payers (a condition for anyone joining from 1 October 2022). The government guarantees the minimum pension for life, the same pension then continues to your spouse, and after both deaths the accumulated pension wealth — about ₹1.7 lakh to ₹8.5 lakh depending on the slab — goes to the nominee.
The earlier you join, the less you pay, because contributions continue until age 60. The calculator also estimates the implied annual return on your contributions if you draw the pension to an age you choose and the corpus is then returned, which helps compare APY with other small-savings options. Quarterly and half-yearly amounts for joining at 40 are not shown in the NPS Trust calculator, so confirm those with your bank.
With the default inputs, the your apy contribution is ₹376.00. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the atal pension yojana calculator
- 1Enter your age on the day you plan to join APY (18 to 40).
- 2Choose the monthly pension you want from age 60.
- 3Pick monthly, quarterly or half-yearly contributions.
- 4Read the instalment, years of payment and total contributions.
- 5Open APY at your bank or post office branch, or online through your bank, with auto-debit set up.
Formula and method
APY contributions are not calculated by the subscriber: they are fixed by the government chart for each entry age and pension slab, and they stay the same until you turn 60. The calculator reads the chart from the official NPS Trust APY calculator (ages 18–39) and the PFRDA flyer and contribution chart for age 40, then multiplies by the number of instalments to give your total outlay.
The implied return treats each year’s contributions as outflows, the guaranteed pension from 60 until the age you choose as inflows, and the indicative pension wealth (₹1.7 lakh for every ₹1,000 of monthly pension) as a final inflow to the nominee, then solves for the annual rate that equates them. It ignores the spouse’s continuing pension, which would increase the return, and any extra pension from returns above the guaranteed level.
- T
- Year the corpus is returned to the nominee
- r
- Implied annual return on contributions
Worked examples
Join at 25 for ₹5,000 a month
At 25 the chart contribution for a ₹5,000 pension is ₹376 a month for 35 years, a total of ₹1,57,920. Drawing ₹60,000 a year from 60 to 80 and returning ₹8.5 lakh to the nominee works out to an implied return of about 8% a year.
Join at 18 for ₹1,000 a month
Joining at 18 is the cheapest entry: ₹42 a month for 42 years, ₹21,168 in total, secures a ₹1,000 monthly pension and an indicative ₹1.7 lakh for the nominee.
Join at 35, ₹3,000 pension, quarterly
At 35 the quarterly instalment for a ₹3,000 pension is ₹1,618, paid 4 times a year for 25 years — ₹1,61,800 in total — for an indicative nominee corpus of ₹5.1 lakh.
Join at 40, ₹5,000 pension
Forty is the last age you can join. A ₹5,000 pension then costs ₹1,454 a month for 20 years (₹3,48,960 in total), almost seven times the ₹210 a month needed when joining at 18.
Frequently asked questions
Who can join Atal Pension Yojana?+
Any Indian citizen aged 18 to 40 with a savings bank or post office savings account. From 1 October 2022, anyone who is or has been an income-tax payer cannot join, and accounts opened in breach of this are closed with contributions refunded.
How much should I pay in APY for ₹5,000 pension?+
It depends on your joining age: ₹210 a month at 18, ₹376 at 25, ₹577 at 30, ₹902 at 35 and ₹1,454 at 40. The amount stays fixed until you reach 60.
What happens to APY if the subscriber dies?+
If the subscriber dies after 60, the spouse receives the same pension for life, and after both deaths the nominee receives the accumulated corpus. If the subscriber dies before 60, the spouse can continue contributions to keep the account, or take the accumulated amount.
Can I exit APY before 60?+
According to NPS Trust, exit before 60 is permitted only in exceptional circumstances such as the subscriber’s death or a terminal disease. If you simply stop paying, the account is not closed, but account maintenance charges keep being deducted until you regularise it.
What if I miss an APY contribution?+
Banks charge overdue interest from ₹1 a month for contributions up to ₹100 to ₹10 a month for contributions over ₹1,001. An APY account is never closed for non-payment, and you can regularise it at any time by paying the overdue contributions with interest.
Can I change my APY pension amount later?+
Yes, you can upgrade or downgrade the pension slab once a year, usually in April. Upgrading requires paying the difference in contributions with interest; downgrading refunds the excess.
Results are estimates for educational purposes and are not financial advice. Rates, fees and terms vary — confirm with your lender or a licensed advisor before making decisions.