NPS Vatsalya Features, Minimum Investment, Benefits: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday launched a special version of the popular NPS pension scheme, called NPS Vatsalya, aimed at enabling parents or guardians to build a post-retirement corpus on behalf of their minor children through market-linked returns. Launching the pension scheme in almost 75 locations across the country virtually from the national capital, the finance minister said that the implementation of the scheme in such a short period since its announcement shows the government's commitment. She also released the scheme brochure and unveiled an online platform for subscribing to NPS Vatsalya.

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"NPS Vatsalya is an important step towards the Prime Minister's 'Viksit Bharat' (Developed India) vision... The growth of the nation needs to be accompanied by intergenerational faith. Financial independence is important in order to ensure a financially secure and dignified future," said the finance minister. Read more

NPS vs NPS Vatsalya | What are differences? Which can help generate higher corpus? 

Here are some important details to know about the NPS Vatsalya scheme: 

Who will benefit? 

The scheme will be in favour of minor children enabling their parents or guardians to build a corpus for their financial needs starting much earlier than a normal NPS account.

This will enable the funds to grow at a much higher rate and benefit the child till they reach adulthood.

Lock-in Period

NPS Vatsalya will have a lock-in period—the period during which it cannot be surrendered—of three years.

Premature Withdrawal

After serving the minimum required lock-in period of three years, depositors will become eligible for the option of up to three withdrawals, amounting up to 25 per cent of the corpus. 

Minimum Investment 

The scheme will enable parents or guardians to invest amounts as small as Rs 1,000 per year in favour of the minor subscribers. 

What will happen to the account upon maturity?

Upon reaching the age of 18, the beneficiary will have the option of converting the NPS Vatsalya account into a regular NPS account. 

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PRAN 

At the time of opening the account, the minor subscribers will be issued permanent retirement account numbers (PRAN) among other details.

Investment Options Under NPS Vatsalya 

The NPS Vatsalya scheme will come with options like flexible contributions and choice of investment.

Here are some key details: 

The NPS Vatsalya scheme will offer the Moderate Lifecycle Fund option (with 50 per cent investment in equities) by default. 

The following two options will be available, as applicable under the normal NPS account: 

 

  • Auto Choice: Investors will have the option to choose allocations of 75 per cent, 50 per cent, or 25 per cent to equities.
  • Active Choice: Investors will get to select how their funds will be distributed across asset classes, such as up to 75 per cent in equities, up to 100 per cent in corporate debt and government securities, and up to five per cent in alternative assets.

Documents required 

Those looking to subscribe to the NPS Vatsalya scheme using Aadhaar will need the following: 

  • Date of birth (DoB) proof of minor
  • Parent/guardian signature
  • Scanned copy of passport (applicable only for NRI subscribers)
  • Scanned copy of foreign address proof (applicable only for OCI subscribers)
  • Scanned copy of bank proof (applicable only for NRI/OCI subscribers)

Where to open NPS Vatsalya account?

The finance minister said that the scheme will be available at banks, post offices as well as the newly-launched portal. 

NPS Vatsalya rules

The same rules that apply to the Tier 1 NPS account will also apply to NPS Vatsalya.