Steps
For everyone
1.
Know the scheme: Andhra Pradesh’s social security pension scheme is the "NTR Bharosa Pension Scheme" (the name was restored by a June 2024 order) and SERP runs it. The old-age pension is ₹4,000 a month. It is meant for elderly people who are destitute: with little or no means of living and no family to depend on.
2.
Ask at your Swarna Gramam or Swarna Wardu office (village or ward secretariat) whether new pension applications are being taken now. The government takes applications in rounds, on announced dates. The last round took them from 7 to 16 September 2026.
🏢 Swarna Gramam or Swarna Wardu office (village or ward secretariat)
Not confirmed: We found no official notice of when the next round will be.
3.
When applications are open, give the filled form and copies of your documents at the secretariat to the Digital Assistant (in a village) or the Ward Education and Data Processing Secretary (WEDPS, in a town). They register it online and give you a computer-generated acknowledgement. Keep it.
🏢 Swarna Gramam or Swarna Wardu office (village or ward secretariat)
📎 New pension application form ("New Pension Application Form"), Aadhaar card (also your proof of age), Rice card, Income certificate
Not confirmed: The memo does not say whether there is a fee for the application. Ask at the secretariat.
4.
Your application details are checked against your Aadhaar eKYC details. If they do not match, you are told and asked to bring the correct details. Then go back to the secretariat with them.
🏢 Swarna Gramam or Swarna Wardu office (village or ward secretariat)
📎 Aadhaar card (also your proof of age)
5.
Wait for the home visit. Secretariat staff come to your home to check your eligibility and documents, and take your eKYC then if it was not taken before. The Welfare and Education Assistant (WEA) or Ward Welfare and Development Secretary (WWDS) then enters the findings.
6.
Wait for the decision. The MPDO (in a village) or the Municipal Commissioner (in a town) decides whether you are eligible and, if you are, recommends you to the CEO of SERP; they do not sanction the pension themselves. After a further check at state level, SERP sanctions it only with the government’s approval and when budget is available.
🏛️ MPDO office or Municipal Commissioner’s office
7.
Collect a printed copy of your sanction order from the WEA or WWDS at the secretariat. If you are found not eligible, they give you an endorsement with the reasons.
🏢 Swarna Gramam or Swarna Wardu office (village or ward secretariat)
8.
Collect the pension every month. It starts only from the month SERP sanctions it; there are no arrears from the month you applied. It is paid on the 1st of the month, and you confirm with your fingerprint or iris when you collect it. People who are bedridden are paid at home.
✋ You do this yourself
Not confirmed: The sanction and arrears rule is from the 2026 memo and ₹4,000 from the 2024 order. Payment on the 1st, the fingerprint or iris check and home delivery come from the SERP website, whose page also gives an old pension amount; ask at the secretariat who pays, where and when now.
You cannot get this
The NTR Bharosa pension rules we read (the SERP pension website and the September 2026 memo) say nothing about Indian citizens living abroad. They say only that the pensioner must be a local resident of the district, that the applicant's details are checked against Aadhaar eKYC, and that staff visit the home to verify. Before applying, ask at your Swarna Gramam or Swarna Wardu office (village or ward secretariat), or at the MPDO or Municipal Commissioner’s office, whether you can get this pension.
Not confirmed: We found no official rule that says whether this applies to Indian citizens living abroad; only that office can tell you.
You cannot get this
The NTR Bharosa pension rules we read (the SERP pension website and the September 2026 memo) say nothing about OCI cardholders. They say only that the pensioner must be a local resident of the district, that the applicant's details are checked against Aadhaar eKYC, and that staff visit the home to verify. Under the Ministry of Home Affairs notification S.O. 1050(E) of 4 March 2021, an OCI cardholder is a foreign national, not an Indian citizen, and in economic, financial and educational fields the notification does not name has the same rights as a foreigner. Before applying, ask at your Swarna Gramam or Swarna Wardu office (village or ward secretariat), or at the MPDO or Municipal Commissioner’s office whether you can get this pension.
Not confirmed: We found no official rule that says whether this applies to OCI cardholders; only that office can tell you.
You cannot get this
The NTR Bharosa pension rules we read (the SERP pension website and the September 2026 memo) say nothing about foreign nationals. They say only that the pensioner must be a local resident of the district, that the applicant's details are checked against Aadhaar eKYC, and that staff visit the home to verify. Before applying, ask at your Swarna Gramam or Swarna Wardu office (village or ward secretariat), or at the MPDO or Municipal Commissioner’s office, whether you can get this pension.
Not confirmed: We found no official rule that says whether this applies to foreign nationals; only that office can tell you.
You cannot get this
According to the SERP website, the old-age pension needs you to be 60 or older.
Instead, see:
Other pensions in the same scheme have their own age rules: for widows, people with disabilities, weavers, fishermen, toddy tappers, traditional cobblers, dappu artists, transgender persons and single women. If you are one of them, ask at the secretariat.
Not confirmed: We did not see the 2019 order that sets the age, and one district website still says 65. Ask at the secretariat.
You cannot get this
The SERP website excludes families that have any of these from the pension. The pension is for poor (BPL) families.
Not confirmed: This list may be old (the same page gives an old pension amount), and we could not find the 2019 order with the current rules (G.O.Ms.No.174). Ask at the secretariat.
You cannot get this
A rule common to all these pensions: the applicant must not already be covered by another pension scheme. Applications are checked against the list of existing pensioners.
Not confirmed: The SERP pension website gives 60 as the age for the old-age pension, but the Anakapalli district website still says 65. We found no official copy of the 2019 order that sets these rules (G.O.Ms.No.174). Age is taken from the Aadhaar card. Ask at the secretariat whether you meet the age.
Not confirmed: This list is from the SERP pension website’s "About" page, which also gives an old pension amount (₹2,250 a month), so the list may be old too. The 2026 memo says eligibility is checked under the 2019 order (G.O.Ms.No.174), which we could not find. Ask at the secretariat for the current rules.