Atal Pension Yojana: In order to offer some relief to people amid the coronavirus pandemic, the union government had suspended the auto-debit facility for the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) contribution till June 2020. While the auto-debit facility was resumed from July 1, the subscribers were given time till September 30 to pay the missing contributions and regularise their APY account to avoid penalty.
If APY subscribers fail to pay the missing contributions and regularise their account by September 30, they will have to pay a penalty. Note that while the suspension of auto-debit started in April, it did not happen in the first half of the month meaning there is a high possibility of most subscribers having already paid their contribution in April.
If you make a quarterly or half-yearly contribution towards APY and if it was due in April then chances are that you may not need any regularisation since your contribution would have been deducted. As for the next quarter (July-September), the auto-debit facility resumed again, your account will not have missed any contribution.
However, if you are one of those subscribers who make a monthly contribution or if your quarterly or half-yearly contribution was due in the months of May or June, you would have missed the contribution since these two months witnessed full suspension of auto-debit in APY. If you fall in this category, you will need to check and verify the number of instalments that you have missed and pay them to avoid any penalty.
As the suspension of auto-debit had started in the second half of April, several subscribers might have already paid their contribution and would not require to regularise their account. As for the next quarter (July-September), the auto-debit facility resumed again, your account will not have missed any contribution. This is for those who make quarterly or half-yearly contribution towards APY.
However, if you contribute every month, you would have missed the contribution since May and June witnessed full suspension of auto-debit in APY. If you fall in this category, you will need to check and verify the number of instalments that you have missed and pay them to avoid any penalty.
How to know if your account is regularised?
You can log into your APY account and check transaction statements to review your contribution payment. You can also review SMS alerts from your bank to see if you have missed any payment. Make sure that all the missing contributions are paid.
How to regularise your APY account?
If your statement shows that missing contributions were not deducted through auto-debit since July 1, you will need to consult your bank to pay the missing contributions and get your account regularised.
