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The Government of India has initiated many programs for senior citizen over the years. These programs aim at fixing monthly pension schemes after retirement. In 2003, Parliament passed the Interim Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill. The goal was to promote, regulate, and develop a pension system in the country.
After the preparation of the final system in 2013, the PFRDA came into being. It was an improved version of IPRDA and is a permanent act. It is the regulatory body for supervising the National Pension Scheme.
Earlier, the National Pension Scheme by PFRDA was for government employees only. But it was later extended to all Indian citizens. This includes non-resident Indians (NRI) and self-employed citizens.
Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority and its Functions
The PFRDA is the pension regulator for the National Pension Scheme. It functions towards the promotion and development of pension schemes. The Central Autonomous Body (CAB) has legislative, executive, and judicial powers. It is like other financial sector regulators in the country. These bodies include SEBI, RBI, IRDA, etc. It is a quasi-government organisation. The Indian government provides support, but the management is private.
The regulatory body has its headquarters in New Delhi. There are many regional offices across the country. A list of PFRDA functions is as follows:
- Promoting pension schemes to secure the old age financial requirements of retired individuals
- Regulating the pension schemes that fall under the PFRDA act (NPS and Atal Pension Yojana)
- Protecting the interests of pension fund subscribers
- Governing and supervising Tier-1 and Tier-2 accounts of the NPS
- Registering and regulating intermediaries like Central Record-Keeping Agency (CRA), Pension Fund Managers, etc.
- Training intermediaries to familiarise and educate people on the importance of pension funds
- Educating stakeholders and the general public about the benefits of PFRDA NPS
- Approving schemes and formulating the guidelines for managing pension fund corpus
- Establishing a grievance redressal mechanism
- Addressing grievances on the various pension schemes in the country
- Regulating the regulated assets
Online Services of PFRDA
It is easy to apply for NPS both offline and online. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) takes care of the same. The regulatory organization offers many internet services. These services encourage professionals to apply for different NPS by PFRDA. They include:
- Pension Fund account opening through NPS
- Processing contributions to the Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN).
- Activating Tier-2 account
- Updating subscribers’ personal information
- Changing investment strategy
- Changing the PFRDA pension arrangements
- Downloading and accessing transaction statements through PFRDA NPS login
- Processing withdrawal or departure requests
- Filing complaints and queries
- Printing e-PRAN and other documents
Conclusion
The National Pension Scheme is an initiative by the Government of India. It aims at facilitating a regular income for all subscribers after retirement. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) governs the NPS. The PFRDA offers National Pension Scheme through four types of accounts. They are All Citizen Model, Corporate Model, Government Sector, and Subscribers accounts.
