28/10/2017
What is NPS
NPS is an easily accessible, low cost, tax efficient under (Section 80CCC) & (Section 80CCD), flexible and portable retirement savings account. Under the NPS, the individual contributes to his retirement account and also his employer can also contribute for the social security/welfare of the individual.
NPS is designed on defined contribution basis wherein the subscriber contributes to his account and the accumulated wealth depends on the contributions made and the income generated from investment of such wealth.
The greater the value of the contribution made, the greater the investment achieved, the longer the term over which the fund accumulates and the lower the charges deducted, the larger would be the eventual benefit of the accumulated pension wealth likely to be. Subscribers have control on the choice of investment made and the fund manager who manages the investments. Subscribers can switch over from one investment option to another or from one fund manager to another subject, of course, to certain regulatory restrictions.
NPS, regulated by PFRDA, offers a robust yet transparent platform which allows an individual to do retirement planning in a cost effective way. Under NPS, Tier I is the primary account where you contribute to build a retirement corpus.
The NPS architecture also offers you a short-term investment option in form of Tier II account, where you can withdraw your investments at any point of time. There is no separate Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC) for Tier II account. You can also switch funds from Tier II to Tier I account online.
Procedure for enrolling NPS
The Subscriber have to submit a duly filled application in form CSRF 1, along with KYC documents, bank account details, initial contribution (Rs.500 for Tier I account & Rs.1000/- for Tier II account) and the NCIS contribution slip, to the nodal office, i.e., any POP-SP.
The forms can be obtained from the website http://kcra.karvy.com/SitePages/All-citizens-Forms.aspx or can be collected from the POP-SP.
Alternatively, the subscriber can apply online for registration from the website https://enps.karvy.com using either his/her Aadhaar number or PAN +KYC Verification.
