APY subscribers base to top 10 cr mark this fiscal: PFRDA Chairman

The Atal Pension Yojana's subscriber base is expected to surpass 10 crore by the end of the current financial year, driven by an 18 per cent annual growth.

Subscribers count for the government's flagship social security scheme Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is expected to cross the 10 crore mark during the current financial year, given an 18 per cent annual growth, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Chairman S Ramann said on Wednesday.

The APY subscriber base increased to 8.96 crore at the end of FY2025-26 from 7.61 crore in the previous financial year, adding a record 1.35 crore subscribers to the scheme.

''With the annual growth of 18 per cent, we hope to cross 10 crore subscribers base in FY27,'' he said on the sidelines of Atal Pension Yojana Annual Felicitation Programme organised by PFRDA here.

APY is administered by the PFRDA under the overall administrative and institutional architecture of the National Pension System (NPS).

Ramann also highlighted the significant rise in enrolments among the 18–25 age group, reflecting increasing awareness among youth regarding long-term financial security, and emphasised the need to further strengthen subscriber engagement and pension awareness across the country.

As of April 30, 2026, more than 9.04 crore individuals have enrolled in the scheme.

According to the PFRDA chairman, subscriptions to the flagship scheme are expected to rise by 18-20 per cent in 2026-27.

Subscribers under the National Pension System (NPS), on the other hand, are expected to rise over 22 per cent this year.

The total number of subscribers under NPS at the end of FY26 was 2.17 crore, with a total corpus of Rs 15.95 lakh crore.

He also said that the PFRDA is continuing to evaluate and work on the demand to raise the upper limit of monthly pension payout under the APY from the current Rs 5,000.

''It will take time because these are long-term schemes, and long-term liabilities of the government are intertwined,'' he said.

PFRDA would engage with the DFS on the matter and provide a detailed report on this, Ramann said, adding that the scheme has a government component, so many things have to be looked at.

It is too premature to arrive at any conclusion at this stage, he added.

APY was launched in 2015 with the objective of creating a universal social security system for all Indians, especially the poor, the underprivileged, and workers in the unorganised sector. It is a government initiative to provide financial security and cover future exigencies for people in the unorganised sector.

APY is open to all bank account holders in the age group of 18 to 40 years who are not income tax payers and the contributions differ, based on pension amount chosen.

Subscribers would receive a guaranteed minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000, Rs 2,000, Rs 3,000, Rs 4,000, or Rs 5,000 after the age of 60 years, based on the contributions made by the subscriber after joining the scheme.

The monthly pension is available to the subscriber, and after him, to his spouse, and after their death, the pension corpus, as accumulated at the subscriber's age 60, would be returned to the subscriber's nominee.