National Pension System (NPS) has been designed giving utmost importance to the welfare of the subscribers. Government has made a conscious move to shift from the defined benefit Pension Scheme to defined contribution pension scheme i.e. NPS, due to rising and unsustainable pension bill. There are a number of benefits available to the employees under NPS. Some of the benefits are enlisted below:

• NPS is a well designed pension system managed through an unbundled architecture involving intermediaries appointed by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) viz. pension funds, custodian, central record keeping and accounting agency, National Pension System Trust, trustee bank, points of presence and Annuity service providers. It is prudently regulated by PFRDA which is a statutory regulatory body established to promote old age income security and to protect the interest of subscribers of NPS.
• The pension wealth which accumulates over a period of time till retirement grows with a compounding effect. The all-in-costs of the institutional architecture of NPS are among the lowest in the world.
• Contribution made to the NPS Tier-I account is eligible for tax deduction under the Income Tax Act, 1961. An additional tax rebate of Rs.50000 is also allowed for contributions made to NPS Tier-I under Section 80CCD (1B) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• Subscribers can withdraw up to 25% of their own contributions before attaining age of superannuation, subject to certain conditions. Further, PFRDA vide “PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals under the NPS) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2017” dated 10.08.2017 has liberalized norms for partial withdrawals which also include reduction of requirement of minimum years of being enrolled under NPS from 10 years to 3 years from the date of joining.
• PFRDA has increased the maximum age limit from 60 years to 65 years for joining NPS-All Citizen Model and Corporate Sector Model, vide “PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals under the NPS) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2017” dated 06.10.2017.
• PFRDA vide “PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals under the NPS) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2018” dated 02.02.2018 has facilitated easy exit & withdrawal in case of disability and incapacitation of the subscriber covered under NPS.
• Transparency and Portability is ensured through online access of the pension account by the NPS subscribers, across all geographical locations and portability of employments.

Representations have been received which inter alia also include the demand that the Government may revert to old defined benefit pension system. However, due to rising and unsustainable pension bill and competing claims on the fiscal, there is no proposal to replace the NPS with old pension scheme in respect of Central Government employees recruited on or after 01.01.2004.

This was stated by Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla, Minister of State for Finance in a Written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

The Government of India has recently made three changes in the National Pension Scheme (NPS) including withdrawal norms. The details are as under:

• Partial withdrawal during the service: The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), with an objective to meet the subscriber’s sudden financial requirement enrolled under NPS, has liberalized norms for partial withdrawals which also include reduction of requirement of minimum years of being enrolled under NPS from 10 years to 3 years from the date of joining. Suitable amendments were made through “Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Exits and Withdrawals under the National Pension System) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2017 and the same has been notified on 10.08.2017.

• Increase in the joining age under NPS: With an objective to allow individuals (under NPS-All Citizen Model and Corporate Sector Model) who are in the age bracket between 60 years and 65 years to join NPS system. Suitable amendments were made through “Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Exits and Withdrawals under the National Pension System) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2017 and the same has been notified on 06.10.2017.

• Exit in case of disability and incapacitation of the subscriber: With an objective of facilitating easy exit & withdrawal in case of disability and incapacitation of the subscriber covered under NPS, PFRDA has made suitable amendments through “Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Exits and Withdrawals under the National Pension System) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2018 and the same has been notified on 02.02.2018.

This was stated by Shri Ship Pratap Shukla, Minister of State for Finance in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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The Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA) has relaxed the norms for partial withdrawal under the National Pension Scheme (NPS). In accordance with the PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals under the National Pension System) (First Amendment) Regulations 2017, the subscriber ought to be subscribed to the National Pension System, at least for a period of three years from the date of his or her joining to such system, to be eligible to make partial withdrawals, under specific circumstances as specified in such regulations.

The NPS subscribers can withdraw after three years from the date of joining the system and a maximum of three times during the entire tenure of subscription under NPS, but the partial withdrawal is linked with contributions made by the subscriber. The subscriber shall be permitted to withdraw accumulations not exceeding twenty-five per cent of the contributions made by him or her and standing to his or her credit in his or her individual pension account, as on the date of application for withdrawal.

Earlier the subscriber under NPS was permitted to withdraw accumulations not exceeding twenty-five per cent of the contributions made by him or her after 10 years from the date of his or her joining the system, and a maximum of three times during the entire tenure of subscription under NPS.

This was stated by Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla, Minister of State for Finance in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.