The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is discussing with the government how to enhance the guaranteed pension offered under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY), which currently provides a maximum monthly pension of Rs 5,000, chairman S Ramann said on Wednesday. Financial Services Secretary M. Nagaraju said the government would examine proposals emerging from stakeholders and subscribers.

“These are long-term schemes, and the government’s long-term liabilities are intertwined with them, so any decision will take time,” Ramann said at an APY event here.

Under APY, a voluntary and contribution-based pension scheme, subscribers receive a guaranteed monthly pension ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 after age 60 until death. Any shortfall in the corpus required to meet future pension liabilities.

Ramann said the PFRDA would engage further with the Department of Financial Services and submit a detailed report, noting that several aspects need examination given the government’s role in the scheme. “It is too premature to arrive at any conclusion at this stage,” he added.

The subscriber base of the government’s flagship social security scheme is expected to cross the 10-crore mark during the current financial year, driven by an 18% annual growth rate, Ramann said.

APY subscribers rose to 89.6 million at the end of FY26 from 76.1 million a year earlier, adding a record 13.5 million subscribers during the year. “With 18% annual growth, we hope to cross a subscriber base of 100 million in FY27,” he said.

Ramann also highlighted the sharp increase in enrolments among the 18–25 age group, reflecting growing awareness among young people about long-term financial security. He stressed the need to further strengthen subscriber engagement and pension awareness across the country.

Subscribers under the National Pension System (NPS) excluding APY, are expected to grow by more than 22% this year. The total NPS subscriber base stood at 21.7 million at the end of FY26, with assets under management of Rs 15.95 lakh crore. Launched in 2015, APY aims to create a universal social security system for all Indians, particularly the poor, underprivileged and workers in the unorganised sector. The scheme seeks to provide financial security and protection against future contingencies for workers outside the formal economy.

Flagging concerns over the high concentration of APY subscribers in the minimum Rs 1,000 pension slab, Nagaraju urged financial institutions, especially banks, to encourage individuals to opt for higher pension slabs as their incomes rise. “While we celebrate our enrolment numbers, we must ask whether Rs 1,000 per month will provide adequate protection to subscribers 20 or 30 years from now. This concentration suggests that counselling at the point of enrolment needs strengthening,” he said.