Kolkata: Atal Pension Yojana (APY), National Pension System (NPS) and the newly introduced Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) constitute almost the entire pension universe in this country. Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is the body that has been entrusted with the responsibility of regulating this crucial sector. PFRDA has recently communicated a fee structure. These will be applicable for services delivered by Central Recordkeeping Agencies (CRAs) under the National Pension System (NPS), Atal Pension Yojana (APY), NPS-Lite and Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). The new charges will kick in from October 1 and will come in place of the currently existing rules which were issued in June 2020.
According to the communication, the charges will be different for the employees of the private sector and the government sector. Let’s have a look at the new fees.
NPS and UPS (Govt sector)
For both NPS and UPS, a government sector employee has to pay the following:
Opening of PRAN: Rs 18 for an e-PRAN kit
To get a physical PRAN card: Rs 40
Annual maintenance of account: Rs 100 for each account. (However, those with zero balance need not pay.)
Transaction charge: Zero
APY and NPS-Lite
Opening of PRAN: Rs 15.
Annual maintenance of account: Rs 15
Transaction charge: Zero
NPS and NPS Vatsalya (Private sector)
Opening of PRAN: Rs 18 for e-PRAN kit
To get a physical PRAN card: Rs 40
Transaction charge: Zero
NPS account maintenance charges
The account maintenance charge are not fixed but will depend on the size of the Tier I corpus of the NPS subscriber. The charges will be as follows from October 1:
Balance up to Rs 1 lakh: Zero
Balance between Rs 1 lakh and 2 lakh: Rs 100
Balance between Rs 2,00,001 and 10 lakh: Rs 150
Balance between Rs 10,00,001 and 25 lakh: Rs 300
Balance between 25,00,001 and 50 lakh: Rs 400
Balance in excess of Rs 50 lakh: Rs 500
Ceiling for fees
It has also been pointed out that the new charges are the ceilings. Central recordkeeping agencies cannot charge more but they are free to charge lower fees whcih can be negotiated with employers or subscribers. This latest revision marks the completion of the five-year price discovery cycle stipulated under the CRA regulations. This communication was issued under Section 14 of the PFRDA Act, 2013.