Recent changes in NPS

Recent changes in NPS rules:

1 Transaction via NACH mandate: PFRDA has enabled the National Automated Clearing House (NACH) mandate in NPS transactions in order to curb the existing challenges in the fund transfer process. With the help of the NACH mandate, the complete transaction process will become digital for Point of Presence (PoP) and other NPS distributors. The regulatory authority introduced the NACH mandate jointly by Trustee Bank and Central Record-Keeping through the National Automated Clearing House operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). 

2. Entire accumulated pension wealth withdrawal: PFRDA has allowed National Pension System (NPS) subscribers to withdraw the full contributions at one go without purchasing an annuity if the pension corpus is equal to or less than Rs 5 lakh. “…where the accumulated pension wealth in the Permanent Retirement Account of the subscriber is equal to or less than a sum of Rs 5 lakh, or a limit as specified by the Authority, the subscriber shall have the option to withdraw the entire accumulated pension wealth without purchasing annuity and upon such exercise of this option, the right of such subscriber to receive any pension or other amount under the National Pension System or from the government or employer, shall extinguish," it said. 

3. Relaxation in timelines: PFRDA has relaxed timelines for activities under the NPS and NPS Lite- Swavalamban scheme amid the second wave of the COVID pandemic. Point of Presence (POPs) are advised to undertake NPS related activities within prescribed Turn Around Time (TAT) under the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Point of Presence) Regulations, 2018, and guidelines issued there-under, in order to ensure timely and efficient service to subscribers, this the pension regulator mentioned. 

4. Partial withdrawal via self-declaration: In order to ease the process of partial withdrawal for NPS subscribers and to make withdrawal process simple, online and paperless, PFRDA has decided to allow partial withdrawal based on self-declaration thereby doing away with the submission of supporting documents to substantiate the reason for partial withdrawal.  

5. Deposit contributions under D-Remit: National Pension System (NPS) subscribers can now deposit contributions into their accounts under D Remit (or direct remittance) using IMPS, which is the instant payment facility offered by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). The pension regulatory said, "PFRDA is pleased to announce the enablement of contribution by subscribers into D-Remit by using Immediate Payment System (IMPS), the instant fund transfer facility provided by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI).