Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) organised a conference on implementation of National Pension System (NPS) in Central Government, with the objective of efficient and effective implementation of the scheme.

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The NPS was introduced for Central Government employees (except armed forces) in 2004 and most of the state governments have also adopted it for their employees. Presently, there are 21.89 lakh subscribers from Central Government with Assets under Management (AUM) of Rs 2.39 lakh crores as on 31st July, 2023.

Dr. Deepak Mohanty, Chairman, PFRDA in his keynote address said that achieving broad pension coverage in an affordable and fiscally sustainable way has remained an aspiring goal worldwide. Open-ended and unfunded pension liabilities can have cascading and costly fiscal implications, including crowding out of other social and developmental expenditures.

He added that PFRDA is committed to creating awareness among the stakeholders to ensure smooth operations of the scheme and laying a strong foundation for building a pensioned society as envisioned by the Government of India. He alluded to PFRDA’s digital solutions for NPS subscribers for on-boarding, servicing, direct remit, paperless exit and withdrawals, online Aadhaar e-KYC, partial withdrawals through self-declaration and eNPS for government subscribers. He emphasized on the adoption of digital safety norms by government nodal offices. He released a handbook for government nodal offices on NPS activities. Top five government nodal offices were felicitated for effective implementation of NPS in their offices.

He highlighted that, the option to choose a pension fund and investment pattern has been provided. Also, the employer contribution for the central government employees has been increased to 14 per cent from 10 per cent. He emphasized that if the timeline stipulated under the NPS Rules is adhered by the nodal offices, subscribers’ interest will be better protected.

Mamta Shankar, Whole Time Member (Economics), PFRDA highlighted the valuable efforts of nodal offices right from enrolment of employees till the time of exit/retirement, which comprise generation of PRAN, deduction, and uploading of contributions, exit and annuity related steps.

She added that the PFRDA in its endeavor to oversee the efficient implementation of NPS at all stages under the regulatory framework of PFRDA conducts review meetings, workshops, seminars and conferences from time to time with central government offices, to ensure old age income security of the NPS subscribers.