NPS Funds

The NPS was introduced in April 2004 to replace the erstwhile old pension scheme, which was seen as a major burden on state finances

PFRDA had launched the online partial withdrawal facility in January 2021 to help subscribers cope with the Covid-19 pandemic

Asset allocation to NPS should depend on age, risk appetite and asset mix in existing investments

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is in talks with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to let NPS subscribers port their annuity plans

The total number of subscribers for National Pension Scheme (NPS) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) stood at 5.33 crore as of June 4, PFRDA chairperson Supratim Bandyopadhyay said. As of June 4, 2022, the Asset Under Management (AUM) under NPS and APY was at Rs 7,39,393 crore. The number of subscribers in the category of central government employees of NPS was 22.98 lakh and AUM at Rs 21,876 crore. Total subscribers in state government employee category of NPS was 56.46 lakh and AUM at Rs 3,69,837 crore in the period. The subscriber base in corporate and pension categories was 14.79 lakh and 23.61 lakh, respectively. "Of late, (subscribers in) corporate and private segments are increasing at a much larger pace than in the government sector," Bandyopadhyay said. The Atal Pension Yojana subscriber base increased to 3.739 crore as of June 4.

The NPS has offered higher returns so far than other schemes

Investment advisors are not comfortable with the idea of a retirement product like NPS investing in IPOs

Mulls raising threshold to Rs 5 lakh from current Rs 2 lakh for exemption from annuity requirement, hiking maximum age to 70 yrs from 65 yrs for NPS entry, a minimum guaranteed product, on-tap license

But taxation at maturity and compulsory annuities are dampers