New NPS Rule from April 1: Upload These Documents for Timely Payment of Pension and Lump Sum

Market-linked, defined contribution product administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), in its bid to make annuity payments faster and simpler for NPS subscribers has made uploading select documents mandatory for subscribers. The move is aimed at making annuity payments faster and simpler after exiting the NPS. In a circular dated February 22, 2023, the body said, “In the interest of Subscribers and to benefit them with the timely payment of annuity income, the upload of the documents shall be mandatory with effect from 1st April 2023.”

Mandatory documents

The PFRDA has asked the subscribers and the associated nodal officers/POPs/corporate to ensure that the following documents are uploaded to the respective Central Record Keeping Agency (CRA) user interface. They will also have to ensure that the uploaded documents are legible.

The documents that need to be uploaded are:

-NPS Exit/ Withdrawal Form

-Proof of Identity and Address as specified in the Withdrawal form

-Bank account Proof

-Copy of PRAN card

According to the regulator, the common proposal for exit from NPS and for buying the annuity from ASPs facilitates parallel processing of the lump sum component and annuity, reducing the time taken by ASPs while issuing annuity policies.

“The common proposal for Exit from NPS and for buying annuity from ASP facilitates parallel processing of Lump sum component and Annuity due to which the time taken by ASPs while issuing Annuity Policies is significantly reduced which result in faster Subscriber servicing and timely Annuity issuance, the regulator said.

Under NPS rules, ASPs are Life Insurance Companies regulated by IRDAI and empanelled with the PFRDA to serve NPS Subscribers and secure their old age with a regular stream of periodical income.

Steps for processing of Exit Request by Subscriber (Govt/Non Govt) – Paperless Mode

a) The subscriber will initiate an online exit request by logging into the CRA system.

b) At the time of initiation of request, the relevant messages about e-Sign/OTP authentication, authorisation of request by nodal office/POP, etc. displayed to the subscriber.

c) During request initiation, details like address, bank details, nominee details, etc. will be auto-populated from the NPS account.

d) Subscriber will select fund allocation percentage for lump sum/annuity, annuity details, etc.

e) The bank Account of the subscriber (registered in CRA) will be verified through online bank account verification (penny drop facility).

f) Subscriber needs to mandatorily upload KYC Documents (identity & address proof), copy of PRAN card/ePRAN, and bank Proof at the time of submitting exit request.

g) Scanned documents should be appropriate i.e. scanned images should be legible.

h) Subscriber authorises the request by using any one of the two following options to make the process paperless:

1) OTP Authentication – Distinct OTPs will be sent to mobile numbers and email IDs of the subscribers.

2) e-Sign – Subscribers will e-Sign the request using Aadhaar

National Pension System (NPS) offers affordable social security to citizens. It is low-cost, tax-efficient plan to which both employees and employers contribute.

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