Asset base, subscribers under National Pension System rising: PFRDA

Kolkata, November 26

The Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA) on Thursday said that the asset base and the number of subscribers under the National Pension System (NPS) had been rising.

PFRDA Chairman Supratim Bandyopadhyay said that even during the pandemic, there had been a steady growth of subscribers and the contributions had been stable.

“The asset base under NPS, a defined pension scheme which started in 2004, has increased at a compounded growth rate of 35 per cent. Over last March, it has risen by 30 per cent taking the subscriber base to 38.7 million,” he said at a webinar organised by ICC here.

According to Bandyopadhyay, the pension asset to GDP ratio was very low at around 10 per cent, as compared to more than 100 per cent in countries like Switzerland, Australia and the UK.

“A lot of catching up needs to be done as the life expectancy is increasing in India,” he said.

Bandyopadhyay said that while the NPS was earlier restricted to the Central and state governments, it is now being embraced by large corporations and the CPSUs.

So far, nearly 8,200 corporations have registered with the NPS, while many CPSUs are also migrating to this system, the PFRDA chairman added.

The pension system in the country is fragmented with the existence of Atal Pension Scheme, EPFO and a few others, Bandyopadhyay said.

He said that during the pandemic, new onboarding measures had been adopted without any physical interference.

The PFRDA was formed in 2014 with an objective to promote old age income security and protect the interests of NPS subscribers. PTI