Question 1

What is NPS?

Accepted Answer

National Pension System (NPS) is an investment cum pension scheme initiated by the Government of India to provide old age security and pension to all citizens of India. The NPS was rolled out for all citizens of India on May 01, 2009. The Scheme is regulated by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

Question 2

Who can subscribe to NPS?

Accepted Answer

A citizen of India, whether resident or non – resident can join the NPS subject to following conditions:
1. Subscriber should be between 18 – 70 years of age as on the date of submission of her application.
2. Subscriber should comply with the prescribed Know Your Customer (KYC) norms as detailed in the Subscriber Registration Form for NPS.

Question 3

Can NRI, OCI, HUF and PIO join NPS?

Accepted Answer

NRIs and OCIs can join NPS. However, HUF and PIO cannot.

Question 4

How does the scheme work?

Accepted Answer

The scheme is based on a unique Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) which is allotted to each Subscriber upon joining. Subscriber contributes towards NPS (directly – self or through the Employer he/she is working with) during his/her working life. On retirement or exit from the scheme, the Corpus is made available to him/her with the mandate that some portion of the Corpus must be invested in the Annuity to provide a monthly pension post retirement or exit from the scheme.

Question 5

How many Funds are there in NPS ?

Accepted Answer

NPS offers 4 funds to Subscribers – Equities (E) Corporate Bonds (C) Government Securities (G) and Alternative Investment Funds. Maximum Limit NPS restricts investment towards Equities Fund to 75% of contribution amount for both Tier I and Tier II NPS Accounts. However, Subscriber can invest up to 100% in Corporate Bonds or Government Securities Fund.

Question 6

How does the investment happen across these funds?

Accepted Answer

There are two investment options available under NPS:
Active Choice: under this option, Subscriber gets the flexibility to choose her own asset allocation across Equity, Corporate Bonds, Government Securities and Alternative Investment Funds. Investment in Equity is restricted to 75% of the Contribution amount. However, in Corporate Bonds and Government Securities Subscriber can invest 100% of Contribution amount.
Auto Choice:under this option investment across Equity, Corporate Bonds and Government Securities is done as per the age of the Subscriber as per this chart.

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5ef7f2_b65ac49907c841359c5cd7517160491c~mv2.png

Question 7

Is there any guaranteed return provided under NPS?

Accepted Answer

NPS returns are market linked. Depending on the returns generated under Equity, Corporate Bonds, Government Securities and Alternative Investment funds, the Corpus will be created. No guaranteed return is provided under NPS.

Question 8

Can a subscriber change the fund allocation pattern under Active choice?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Subscriber can switch the asset allocation pattern under Active Choice twice in a financial year.

Question 9

Can a subscriber switch between active choice & auto choice?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Subscriber gets this flexibility. This can be done twice in a financial year.

Question 10

Does the subscriber need to deposit any minimum amount at the time of submission of NPS Application Form?

Accepted Answer

Yes. For account opening, a minimum contribution is required as shown below:
 • For Tier I account opening: Rs. 500.
 • For Tier II account opening: Rs. 1,000.
If Subscriber is opening Tier I and Tier II accounts simultaneously, minimum Rs.1,500 needs to be deposited as initial contribution. However, in order to avail of tax benefit u/s 80CCD (1B) you can deposit Rs. 50K at once in Tier I Account.

Question 11

Is there any restriction on frequency of contribution ?

Accepted Answer

There is no restriction in terms of frequency of contribution. Subscriber has the option to make the contribution in any mode – monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly.

Question 12

Can subscribers increase or decrease the contribution amount in subsequent years? What happens if the minimum annual contribution of Rs.1000 is not invested in Tier-I NPS Account?

Accepted Answer

Yes, NPS offers this flexibility. Subscribers are allowed to alter the contribution amount as per the suitability. An annual contribution of Rs. 1000/- must be deposited to keep the account active.
In case the Subscriber fails to contribute minimum Rs.1000 in Tier – I NPS Account, the PRAN is frozen. Once the PRAN is frozen, Subscriber is not allowed to do any transaction (financial / non – financial) in both – Tier – I and Tier – II NPS Accounts.

Question 13

Does subscriber get any alert on credit of contribution amount to his/her NPS Account?

Accepted Answer

Yes, once the contribution is credited to the Subscriber's NPS account, an email alert as well as a SMS alert is sent to the registered email ID and mobile number of the Subscriber.

Question 14

Does Tier -2 NPS Account of the Subscriber also get frozen if Tier 1 account is frozen?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if the Tier I account of a Subscriber is frozen because of non fulfillment of criteria, Tier II accounts automatically get frozen.

Question 15

Can a subscriber change/modify data in the NPS system after joining NPS?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Subscriber can modify the mobile number and email address associated with his/her NPS account online itself by logging in to the CRA portal (KFintech). For any other change request, the subscriber has to submit the Subscriber Modification form to Finbingo. For details, please write to care@finbingo.com.(mailto:care@finbingo.com)

Here is the link for S2 form, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HhbqHLUHksN18Owsdlggz-7xop8G0QjC/view?usp=sharing(https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HhbqHLUHksN18Owsdlggz-7xop8G0QjC/view?usp=sharing)

Question 16

Does the subscriber get any statement for an NPS account?

Accepted Answer

Yes. An annual statement containing details of the unit holdings is issued by CRA to Subscriber’s registered email address within 3 months of the end of every financial year. Subscriber can also download the statement by visiting KRA Website (KFintech)- https://enps.kfintech.com/Login/Login(https://enps.kfintech.com/Login/Login)

Question 17

Can a subscriber request for a duplicate PRAN card?

Accepted Answer

Yes. In case of loss or damage of PRAN Card, the Subscriber needs to submit a duly filled S2 form to the POP for issuance of duplicate PRAN Card. Rs.50 plus applicable Service Tax will be deducted by CRA for issuing duplicate PRAN.

Question 18

Do we get digital PRAN free?

Accepted Answer

Yes, There is no charges for digital PRAN.

Question 19

Is partial withdrawal allowed from Tier 1 NPS Account ?

Accepted Answer

Yes, A subscriber can make partial withdrawal after 10 years of joining NPS, not exceeding 25% of the contributions made by him/her and excluding contributions made by the employer.
Conditions for Partial Withdrawal:
1. A subscriber can withdraw only 3 times during the tenure of his/her subscription
2. A subscriber should maintain a minimum gap of 5 years between any 2 withdrawals. This gap can be reduced only during medical emergencies
3. A subscriber can withdraw only upto 25% of his contributions towards this scheme
4. A subscriber should have been a member of this scheme for at least 3 years in order to be eligible for partial withdrawal
5. Partial withdrawal is allowed only in certain exceptional cases, like education of his/her children, marriage expenses, house construction or medical emergencies

Question 20

What are the condition of partial withdrawal?

Accepted Answer

Withdrawal from tier – I NPS account would be permitted for specific purposes like Child’s marriage, higher education, treatment of critical illnesses etc.

Question 21

What process Subscribe needs to follow for withdrawal from Tier - 2 NPS Accounts?

Accepted Answer

In order to withdraw from Tier – II NPS Account, the Subscriber needs to submit a duly filled UOS-S12 form to the associated POP branch Or visit CRA website.

Question 22

What is the process of unfreezing the PRAN?

Accepted Answer

Subscriber can unfreeze the NPS Account by paying Rs.500 as minimum contribution amount and Rs.100 as penalty. POP & POP-SP charges to be added to it.

Question 23

When can a subscriber exit from NPS?

Accepted Answer

Subscriber can exit from NPS after 10 years of account opening or attaining 60 years of age whichever is early.

Question 24

Can a Subscriber use 100% of accumulated to buy an annuity plan ?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Subscriber can use 100% of accumulated wealth to buy an annuity plan.

Question 25

How does the payout happen if a subscriber exits from NPS?

Accepted Answer

Primary objective of Tier – I NPS Account is to create a Corpus which can be used at the time of retirement to buy pension for the Subscriber / Nominee. Hence, there is a restriction imposed on lump sum amount accessible to Subscriber on exit as mentioned below.

Exit before the age 60 years
 • Up to 20% of Corpus can be withdrawn in lump sum
 • Balance amount needs to be invested in Annuity

Exit at the age 60 years
 • Up to 60% of Corpus can be withdrawn in lump sum
 • Balance amount needs to be invested in Annuity

If the Corpus is less than or equal to Rs.1 lakh, there is no need to invest into Annuity. Entire amount can be withdrawn in lump sum
If the Corpus is less than or equal to Rs.2 lakhs, there is no need to invest into Annuity. Entire amount can be withdrawn in lump sum

Question 26

Is it mandatory to withdraw the amount immediately at the time of exit from NPS?

Accepted Answer

In case of exit from NPS on retirement age defined by the Corporate, Subscriber can defer the withdrawal option till 10 years depending on the market condition. Subscriber can withdraw this amount either in lump sum or take the same in 10 installments before attaining the age of 70 years. However, in case of pre – mature exit from NPS (before attaining the age of 60 years), Subscriber does not have option to defer the option.

Question 27

What happens to the fund if the subscriber opt to defer the withdrawal (on attainment of 60 years of age defined by the corporate)?

Accepted Answer

The fund would continue to remain invested. The Pension Fund Manager, Scheme Preference and Asset Allocation Pattern will remain the same as these were at the time of vesting.

Question 28

In Case the subscriber opted for withdrawal from Tier - 1 NPS Account before the age 60, at what age annuity will start?

Accepted Answer

In case of premature withdrawal, Subscriber needs to invest in Annuity immediately. Depending on the Annuity Plan he / she has invested in, annuity would start.

Question 29

In case of death of the subscriber, who can claim the corpus in Tier-I and Tier-II NPS account of diseased?

Accepted Answer

In case of death of the Subscriber, option will be available to the nominee to receive 100% of the NPS pension wealth in lump sum. In case, nominee is not there, the legal heirs to the Subscriber can claim the corpus.

Question 30

Do nominee or legal heirs get this contribution corpus in lump sum or as annuity or combination before maturity?

Accepted Answer

Let's discuss this In case of death of a Subscriber, the entire accumulated pension wealth of the Subscriber (100% NPS Corpus) shall be paid to the Nominees or Legal heirs, as the case may be, of such Subscriber. Though, the Nominee/Legal heir of the deceased Subscriber shall have the option to purchase any of the annuities being offered upon exit, if they so desire, while applying for withdrawal of benefits on account of deceased Subscribers’ Permanent Retirement Account. If a nominee/legal heir wishes to opt for annuity (pension), they are required to select Annuity Service Provider (ASP) and annuity Scheme in Death Withdrawal Form.

Question 31

What is the process of claiming the corpus after the death of the subscriber?

Accepted Answer

The beneficiary needs to submit the request to POP. You can email at care@finbingo.com(mailto:care@finbingo.com)

Question 32

Can a subscriber change the annuity service provider ?

Accepted Answer

No, this option is not available.

Question 33

In case of the death of the subscriber, what happens to the annuity plan bought by her ?

Accepted Answer

It will depend on the kind of annuity plan opted for the Subscriber. For an example, if the annuity plan is joint life annuity plan, on death of Subscriber, the spouse will get the annuity till he / she is alive.

Question 34

What type of annuity plans are available?

Accepted Answer

Life annuity: You will get regular (monthly/quarterly/yearly) annuity payouts from the scheme till you are alive. The annuity stops after your death.

Life annuity with return of purchase price: You will continue receiving annuity payments regularly until you die. After that, the insurer returns the initial amount, which was used to purchase the annuity, to your nominee. It is a good option for those who want to leave a legacy behind.

Annuity payable for a guaranteed period: The annuity is to be paid for a guaranteed period, say 5, 10 or 15 years even if the annuity buyer dies. Annuity stops either on the death of the annuitant or completion of the guaranteed period, whichever is later.

Inflation-indexed annuity: Every year, there will be a rise in the annuity payable at a certain rate, say 2% or 5%. Though it may not be linked to the actual inflation rate, the rationale is that it would take care of the increase in expenses to some extent.

Joint life survivor annuity: It keeps paying till either you or your spouse is alive.
Joint life annuity with return of purchase price: It keeps paying till you or your spouse is alive. In the case of death of the both, the nominee is entitled to get the initial invested amount.

Question 35

What are the charges under NPS and how are these charges levied?

Accepted Answer

There are various intermediaries involved under NPS. The charge for these intermediaries is regulated by PFRDA. Below are the details of charges under NPS (exclusive of GST)

*Subject to minimum Rs.30 and maximum Rs.25000 per PRAN per Transaction.
**Service Tax is not applicable on Trust Management Charge.

Question 36

Does subscriber need to pay POP Charges over and above the contribution amount?

Accepted Answer

No, the POP charges would be deducted from the Contribution amount or taken upfront at time of contribution.

Question 37

What is meant by non-financial transactions?

Accepted Answer

Transactions like change of address, contact details etc are called non – financial transactions.

Question 38

How is the non-financial transaction charge recovered by POP?

Accepted Answer

Subscriber needs to pay Rs.20 + Service Tax by Cheque at the time of submitting request for process any Non – Financial transaction.

Question 39

Can I do SIP in NPS?

Accepted Answer

Individuals can start a Systematic Investment Plan or SIP in NPS using the D-Remit feature. Giving the bank standing instructions will allow you to set up an auto-debit from your account every month, quarter or year.

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