National Pension System (NPS) How it works, tax benefits and other key details

In recent years, NPS has become more popular with investors.

- Sanjeev Puri

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) oversees the National Pension System (NPS), a defined contribution retirement savings plan that has a number of features and several different alternatives. In the NPS, the amount of money invested determines how much an investor would accumulate and receive as a pension after retirement. The performance of the underlying assets determines the return, which is why the return is not guaranteed. NPS stands out above other investment options due to its low cost, simplicity of access, and ability to grow a corpus using market-linked asset classes.

Anyone between the ages 18-70 can join NPS. One gets a Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) which captures all the data including personal details and transactions. On maturity of scheme, the contributions stop, and one is allowed to withdraw up to 60 percent of the corpus while annuity starts on the balance 40 percent of the NPS corpus from any of the seven designated annuity providers. For your post-retirement needs, a lifetime pension is certainly something you plan for, and hence opt for NPS knowing the long-term nature of the NPS scheme. Being a retirement focussed investment, there is a provision to get a mandatory pension in NPS, and hence 100 per cent of the corpus is not allowed to be withdrawn under normal circumstances.