National Pension System (NPS) is a retirement focused savings product that allows a subscriber to make regular savings during their working life to build a healthy corpus and enjoy steady income in the form of pensions and lump sum withdrawals on retirement. It is a new contributory pension scheme launched by Government of India with effect from 1st January 2004. NPS is regulated by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and was first introduced for government employees and then in 2009 extended for all citizens of India. Under NPS, two types of account would be available to subscribers i.e. Tier I & Tier II; Tier I account - where subscribers contribute his / her savings (may include employers contribution in case of Corporate sector) for retirement into a non-withdraw able account, and a Tier II account - a voluntary savings account from which subscribers are free to withdraw their savings whenever he / she wishes. An active Tier I account will be a pre requisite for opening of a Tier II.

You are required to make your first contribution at the time of applying for registration with the POP-SP. You are required to make contributions subject to the following conditions: Minimum amount per contribution - Rs. 500 Minimum contribution per year - Rs. 1,000 Minimum number of contributions - 01 per year Over and above the mandated limit of a minimum of 1 contribution, you may decide on the frequency of the contributions across the year as per your convenience. PFRDA will impose penalties on intermediaries in case of delay beyond this period.

Regulated:
NPS is regulated by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), with transparent investment norms, regular monitoring and performance review of fund managers by NPS Trust.
Portable:
NPS provides seamless portability across jobs and across locations.
Low Cost:
NPS is perhaps world’s lowest cost pension scheme with 0.01% as fund management charge. Other handling and administrative charges are also the lowest.
Online platform:
On joining NPS, each Subscriber gets log in ID and Password of NSDL system for accessing NPS details online.
Flexible:
offers choice of Investment Options, Pension Fund Managers, Annuity Service Providers and Annuity Plans to Subscribers

Any Individual who wants to get registered as a subscriber and wants to open a Permanent Retirement Account (PRA) (Tier-I) in NPS would submit the duly filled form (Composite application form for subscriber registration) with other supporting KYC documents to a POP.

Subscriber needs to pay the service charges to POP for subscribing to NPS scheme.
An Initial subscriber registration charge of 100 and an ad valorem transaction charge of 0.25% of the initial contribution amount from subscriber subject to a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 25,000.
a. Any subsequent transaction involving contribution - 0.25% of the amount subscribed by the NPS subscriber, subject to minimum of 20 and a maximum of 25,000.
b. Any other transaction not involving a contribution from subscriber - 20
c. Change in subscriber details
d. Change of investment scheme / Fund Manager
e. Processing of withdrawal request
f. Processing of request for subscriber shifting
g. Issuance of printed account statement
h. Any other subscriber services as may be prescribed by PFRDA

You can increase or decrease your contribution to NPS every year subject to a minimum contribution of 6,000 annually. You are required to make your first contribution at the time of applying for registration with the POP-SP. You are required to make contributions subject to the following conditions: Minimum Contributions (For Tier-I)
• Minimum amount per contribution - 500,
• Minimum contribution per year - 6,000,
• Minimum number of contributions - 01 per year
• Minimum Contributions (For Tier-II)
• Minimum contribution at the time of account opening - 1000
• Minimum amount per contribution - 250
• Minimum balance of 2000/- at the end of each financial year
• Minimum number of contributions - 1 per year

Any citizen of India, whether resident or non-resident, subject to the following conditions:
Individuals who are aged between 18 –60 years as on the date of submission of his/her application to the POP/ POP-SP. The citizens can join NPS either as individuals or as an employee-employer group(s) (corporate) subject to submission of all required information and Know your customer (KYC) documentation.

The following applicants cannot join: Undercharged insolvent: Individuals who are not granted an 'order of discharge' by a court Individuals of unsound mind: An individual is said to be of unsound mind for the purposes of making a contract if, at the time when he makes it, he is incapable of understanding it and of forming a rational judgment regarding its effect upon his/her self-interest Pre-existing account holders under NPS

Tax Benefits for employee – Contribution made by the employee towards NPS will be eligible for tax deductions as mentioned below
1. Contribution made by the employee
• To the extent of 10% of Salary (Basic + Dearness Allowance) will be eligible for tax deduction u/s 80CCD (1) of Income Tax Act, 1961 within 150,000 limit under section 80 CCE
• Additionally employee can invest up to 50,000 towards NPS which will be eligible for tax deduction u/s 80CCD (1B) of Income Tax Act, 1961
Contribution made by the Corporate to the extent of 10% of Salary (Basic + Dearness Allowance) will be eligible for tax deduction u/s 80CCD (2) of Income Tax Act, 1961.
Please Note:
• All the three benefits as described above are mutually exclusive
There is no upper cap in terms of absolute value in case of section 80CCD (2)

Yes. Investment in NPS is independent of your contribution to any Provident Fund.

Yes. Investment in NPS is independent of your subscription to any other pension fund.

Application form for registration for NPS can be downloaded from our website. You need to forward the duly filled Subscriber Registration Form, photograph, 1st contribution cheque & self-attested KYC documents to POP.

Yes. You can make contribution in your NPS account anytime between the 18 to 60 years of age. After attaining 60 years of age, you will not be permitted to make further contributions to the NPS account.

No, there is no upper limit on investment in NPS.

Subscriber can check the status by accessing CRA website: https://cra-nsdl.com/CRA/ by using the 17 digit receipt number provided by POP-SP or the acknowledgement number allotted by CRA-FC at the time of submission of application forms by POP-SP. Once the PRAN is generated, an email alert as well as a SMS alert will be sent to the registered email ID and mobile number of the subscriber.

HDFC Pension Management Company Ltd.
LIC Pension Fund Ltd.
ICICI Prudential Pension Funds Management Company Ltd.
Kotak Mahindra Pension Fund Ltd.
Reliance Capital Pension Fund Ltd.
SBI Pension Funds Private Ltd.
UTI Retirement Solutions Ltd.
Birla Sun Life Pension Management

The NPS offers two approaches to invest subscriber’s money: Active choice: Here the individual would decide on the asset classes in which the contributed funds are to be invested and their percentages (Asset class E(maximum of 50%), Asset Class C, and Asset Class G ) Auto choice: Lifecycle Fund- This is the default option under NPS and whereinthe management of investment of funds is done automatically based on the age profile of the subscriber. For full details, one may go through our website www.pfrda.org.in wherein the full details of the investment choices and fund management details are provided.

Yes, NPS offers to its subscribers the option to change the scheme preference. Subscriber has option to realign his investment in asset class E, C and G based on age and future income requirement. Also, the subscriber has option to change the PFM and the investment option (active /auto choice).

Yes, there is a default PFM provision under NPS and SBI Pension Funds Private Limited acts as the default Pension Fund Manager.

Yes. You may select different PFMs and Investment Options for your NPS Tier I and Tier II accounts.

Yes, you need to appoint a nominee at the time of opening of a NPS account in the prescribed section of the opening form. You can appoint up to 3 nominees for your NPS Tier I and NPS Tier II account. In such a case you are required to specify the percentage of your saving that you wish to allocate to each nominee. The share percentage across all nominees should collectively aggregate to 100%.

If you have not made the nomination to your NPS account at the time of registration, you can do the same after the allotment of PRAN. You will have to visit your POP and place Service Request to update nominations details.

Yes. You can change the nominees in your NPS Tier I account at any time after you have received your PRAN.

If you are making the nomination at the time of registering for PRAN, no charges will be levied to you. However, a subsequent request for nomination updating would be considered as a service request and you will be charged an amount of 20/- plus applicable service tax for each request.

Yes, one can defer the withdrawal of the eligible lump sum amount payable under NPS till the age of 70 years.

No, multiple NPS accounts for a single individual are not allowed and there is no necessity also as the NPS is fully portable across sectors and locations.

The withdrawal will be processed like a normal withdrawal but in addition deduct the penalty that is applicable for unfreezing of such an account without seeking to reactivate the account by the subscriber or payment of amounts necessary to activate the account. In essence, the CRA will unfreeze the account by charging the penalty applicable and process the withdrawal claim.

An annuity is a financial instrument which provides for a regular payment of a certain amount of money on monthly/quarterly/annual basis for the chosen period for a given purchase price or pension wealth.

Indian Life Insurance companies which are licensed by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) are empanelled by PFRDA to act as Annuity Service Provider’s to provide annuity services to the subscribers of NPS. Currently, the following are the ASPs empanelled by PFRDA. The following 7 ASPs are providing the Annuity services to NPS subscribers:
Life Insurance Corporation of India
SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co Ltd
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Reliance Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Note: The ASP empanelment process is an ongoing process and the list of ASPs may grow in future.

The following are the generic annuities that are offered by Annuity Service Providers to the Subscribers of NPS. However, some of the ASP’s may offer some variants which have slightly different or combination type of annuities.
Pension payable for life at a uniform rate to the annuitant only.
Pension payable for 5, 10, 15 or 20 years certain and thereafter as long as you are alive.
Pension for life with return of purchase price on death of the annuitant policy holder
Pension (Annuity) payable for life increasing at a simple rate of 3% p.a.

• You may also contribute beyond the age of 60 years.
• Both annuity and lump sum withdrawal can be deferred.

In case of exit before 60 years, a subscriber is required to invest at least 80% of the pension wealth to purchase a life annuity from an Annuity Service Provider (an IRDA regulated Life Insurance Company appointed by PFRDA). Remaining 20% of the pension wealth may be withdrawn as a lump sum. HDFC Life is one of the approved Annuity Service Provider for NPS scheme.

No, Subscriber cannot defer lump sum in the case of pre-mature exit from the system.

Yes, a subscriber can Exit from NPS at any point of time after availing the benefit of continuing to contribute to NPS irrespective of the period of contribution indicated by the subscriber while submitting the request to continue to contribute to NPS.

The subscriber who is already having a PRAN need not apply for a fresh PRAN when he / she join a company which is registered under corporate sector. To update the association of the PRAN with the new corporate, the subscriber needs to submit an ISS-1 form (for shifting from a different sector) or a CS-S3 form (for shifting from a different corporate) to the current employer.

The subscriber who is already having a PRAN need not apply for a fresh PRAN when he / she join a company which is registered under corporate sector. To update the association of the PRAN with the new corporate, the subscriber needs to submit an ISS-1 form (for shifting from a different sector) or a CS-S3 form (for shifting from a different corporate) to the current employer.

The subscriber wishing to exit from NPS has to submit a withdrawal application form to the concerned POP along with the documents specified for withdrawal of the benefits and the POP in turn would authenticate the documents and forwards them to CRA M/s NSDL. CRA in turn would register your claim and forward you the necessary application form along with the procedure to be followed and documents that need to be submitted. Once the documents are received, CRA processes the application and settles the account.

Following documents are required to be submitted along with the withdrawal forms in order to settle the claims:
PRAN card in original
Attested copy of Proof of Identity
Attested copy of Proof of
Cancelled cheque

The subscriber who is already having a PRAN need not apply for a fresh PRAN when he / she join a company which is registered under corporate sector. To update the association of the PRAN with the new corporate, the subscriber needs to submit an ISS-1 form (for shifting from a different sector) or a CS-S3 form (for shifting from a different corporate) to the current employer.

"NPS provides platform for corporate to co-contribute for its subscribers or facilitate them to contribute for their pension. There are three variations of contributions from employer and employee:
Equal contributions by employer and employee
Unequal contribution by the employer and the employee
Contribution from either the employer or the employee"

There is no requirement for minimum number of employees for adopting NPS.

Adopting NPS will not dilute any statutory requirement for the corporate.

At present, there is no limit on maximum amount of investment in NPS.

Total contribution (employer and/or employee) in Tier I for a financial year should be Rs. 6000.

Yes, a corporate can change the associated POP. To change the POP, corporate requires sending a duly filled CHO-3 form to NSDL.

Yes, a corporate can change the scheme preference once in a financial year. To change the scheme preference, corporate requires sending a duly filled CHO-2 form to NSDL.

Yes, a subscriber can make voluntary contribution through the associated Point of Presence (POP) of the corporate (i.e., the POP selected by the corporate for operations of NPS).

The corporate subscriber can open Tier II account along with Tier I account by submitting composite application form (CS-S1). Further, a subscriber with an active Tier I account can also activate the Tier II account by submitting UOS-S10 form to the associated POP. After activation, the subscriber can contribute in his/her Tier II account through any of the registered POP-SP across India.

There are various intermediaries involved under NPS. The charge for these intermediaries is regulated by PFRDA. Below are the details of charges under NPS (exclusive of Service Tax)

Intermediary	Charge Head	Amount	Mode of charges
POP Charges	Registration	Rs.20 or 0.25% of contribution	To be collected from contribution amount CRA
CRA	Maintenance Charges	Rs.95	Deducted from the account itself by selling units
	Transaction Charges	Rs.45
PFM	Fund Management	0.01%	Deducted from the account itself by selling units
NPS Trust**	Trust Management	0.01%	Deducted from the account itself by selling units

One Time Charges	Annual Charges	Mode of charges
Account Opening Charges - POP charges	236	Collected at the time of account opening along with NPS subscription form - Paid by the employee
Persistency Charges	50	Deducted from the account itself by selling units
	PRAN Registration Fee		40	Deducted from the account itself by selling units as

**Service Tax is not applicable on Trust Management Charge.

• Fill in the NPS Subscription form
• Identity Proof
• Address Proof
• 1 passport size photograph (plain background)
• Cheque of Rs. 760 for subscription
• HR Seal and Signature in Page 3 if you are registering under corporate model

Step 1: Go to https://cra-nsdl.com/CRA/
Step 2: Your PRAN is your User ID
Step 3: Type in your Password
Step 4: You are logged in successfully

To check your account balance, Log in to your NPS Account. Go to views and then select statement of transaction new. You can see the units that have been accumulated. Also, you can view all the transaction details.