National Pension System
Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has given big relief to crores of investors associated with the National Pension System (NPS). Now the method of taking pension after retirement will become easier and more flexible than before. The regulator has launched Retirement Income Scheme (RIS) and new drawdown options, with the help of which subscribers will be able to withdraw money in a phased manner as per their need. According to the circular issued on May 15, 2026, the objective of the new system is to ensure regular income after retirement and to give more control to investors.
RIS Steady: A new way to invest safely after retirement
PFRDA has also launched a new fund option named RIS Steady. It has been specially designed keeping in mind the needs after retirement. In this, equity investment will automatically reduce with increasing age, so that the impact of market fluctuations is less and the investment remains more secure.
At the age of 60, about 35% of this fund will be invested in equities, 10% in corporate bonds and 55% in government securities. At the same time, by the age of 75, equity investment will reduce to only 10%.
Now you can withdraw money in two ways
PFRDA has given two new drawdown options to subscribers. The first is Systematic Payout Rate (SPR), which will be the default option. In this, the amount to be withdrawn every year will be decided according to your age and payout period till 85 years. The payout rate will also increase with increasing age.
For example, if a person starts payout at the age of 60, he will be able to withdraw about 4% of the corpus every year. At the age of 70, this rate will increase to approximately 6.67%.
The second option is Systematic Unit Redemption (SUR). In this, the total units will be distributed equally throughout the payout period. An equal number of units will be redeemed every month, but the amount received will vary according to the NAV at that time.
There will be no change in the annuity rules
PFRDA has clarified that the new options will not affect the mandatory annuity rule of NPS. That is, under the current rules, it will be necessary to invest 20% or 40% of the corpus in annuity, so that the investor continues to get pension throughout his life.
Market risk will also remain applicable
The regulator has directed pension funds and CRAs to clearly inform investors that there will be no guarantee on the payout and it will be subject to market risk. Besides, subscribers will also be given information about corpus projection, payout details and asset rebalancing from time to time.
