PFRDA head says aiming for 13 lakh non-govt NPS enrollments in FY24

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is looking to enroll 13 lakh new non-government individuals under the Nation Pension System (NPS) in FY24, said Chairperson Deepak Mohanty.

In FY23, both schemes crossed a significant milestone in terms of customer onboarding, with NPS adding over 10 lakh new individual subscribers and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) adding 1.1 crore subscribers.

Under APY, the pension regulator expects to add 1.3 crore subscribers in FY24, said Mohanty in a media discussion on Friday.

Of the total non-government subscriber base of 48 lakh as of date, individual subscribers stood at 30.2 lakh as of July 1 and corporate subscribers at over 17.8 lakh, leaving huge scope of expansion, he added. Central and State government subscribers were at around 85 lakh.

Total assets under management, including NPS Lite, stood at ₹9.8-lakh crore as of July 1, of which, ₹1.7 lakh crore, or 17.8 per cent, is in equities.

The focus is now on garnering corporate subscribers, for which PFRDA is in discussions with several corporates, and the growing the digital capabilties. Growth under the corporate vertical was around 18 per cent and under the all citizens model was 27 per cent in FY23.

Mohanty said NPS continues to be an attractive product due to its low cost, employer portability and steady returns .The equity scheme has given returns of over 12 per cent over the past year, the government scheme 9.5 per cent, and the State government fund about 9.3 per cent since inception.

The regulator is endeavouring to enhance the digital enablements to ensure a seamless journey for people coming through different channels, including direct or intermediries, Mohanty said adding that currently about one-third of the new onboarding is being done through eNPS.

PFRDA has been working on a minimum assured returns product, and is also looking to allow access to funds through systematic withdrawal plans (SWPs)– a feature that is expected to be launched by October.