The National Pension System (NPS) has been implemented for all Government Employees (except armed forces) entering the Central Government workforce on or after January 1, 2004. Most of the State/UT Governments have also adopted the NPS for their new employees. Since May 1, 2009, NPS has been available to every Indian Citizen voluntarily, including corporates. Notably, the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) was launched on June 1, 2015, providing a significant boost to social security schemes.
As of 9.12.2023, the subscribers of NPS and APY surpassed 6.92 crores with a total Asset Under Management (AUM) of 10,70,423.51 Crore. The number of subscribers in the private sector, including corporates, exceeds 50 lacs and crossed 2 lakh crore AUM, with 14,629 corporates having adopted NPS and registering 18.76 lacs employees under NPS.
To promote awareness of NPS among corporate entities, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) organizes the NPS Awareness Programme for Corporate’ nationwide. Recently, in collaboration with the FICCI, PFRDA conducted an event on December 15, 2023, at Hyatt Place, Hyderabad in the presence of various corporations based in Hyderabad.
The keynote speaker at the event was Ms Mamta Shankar, Whole Time Member (WTM) at PFRDA. Ms Shankar emphasized the growing concerns related to an aging society and increasing life expectancy, underscoring the necessity for adequate pension coverage. She elaborated on the efficiency, scale, and returns that NPS has delivered and urged corporates to adopt NPS for the benefit of their employees. Other notable speakers included Mr. Jehangir Damkevala, Associate Director and Retirement Trust Consulting Leader, Willis Towers Watson and Managing Partner, and Ms. Behroze Kamdin, Partner, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, alongside Mr. Ramchander Maddela, Chief Human Resource Officer of Aspentek Informatics Pvt Limited. Ms. Puja Upadhyay, AGM, PFRDA explained the product benefits and features of NPS and highlighted the importance of NPS for corporate employees. The speakers addressed critical topics such as Retirement Benefits Planning, features of NPS including Tax benefits under NPS, and NPS Onboarding and Implementation for Corporates (Experience sharing).
The conference was attended by over 120 delegates from 50 corporate, and Points of Presence.