PFRDA Clarifies Charge Structure Of CRAs For Pension Schemes, What You Need To Know

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has clarified about the charge structure of Central Record Keeping Agencies (CRAs) for different pension schemes. In a circular dated April 29, 2026, it said that the annual maintenance charges for National Pension System (NPS) Tier II accounts will be in line with charges for the Tier I accounts.

CRAs work as an interface between subscribers and the pension funds and trustee banks. CRAs are responsible for recordkeeping of subscribers’ details, administration and customer service, and online account access and withdrawal processing. They charge the subscriber for their services. There are three CRAs recognised by PFRDA for rendering NPS related services. These include Protean, KFintech, and CAMS. PFRDA’s latest circular is regarding charges payable to them.

PFRDA has clarified that the AMC for Tier II accounts will be aligned with the AMC in Tier I accounts, taking into account whether it is a government or a private sector account. However, no AMC will apply if the balance in a Tier II account is up to Rs 1,000. 

One PRAN And Different Pension Accounts

The charges will be levied on each account. So Tier I and Tier II accounts will be considered two different accounts for levying AMC. Besides, each pension scheme under one permanent retirement account number (PRAN) will also be considered a separate account for CRA charges. 

Further, PRAN opening charges will apply only once at the time of PRAN generation, but once a PRAN is registered, activation or another account opening, say Tier II, under the same PRAN, will attract no charges.

Dormant Account

In case an account becomes dormant, the AMC will be reduced to 10 per cent of the applicable AMC for the respective account.

An account becomes dormant when there is no contribution to it for four consecutive quarters. In such cases, the CRAs tag the account as dormant in the first week of the next quarter. Once tagged as dormant, AMC will be charged at a lower rate until the account becomes active again. Once a contribution is made, the account will again be converted into an active account from the subsequent quarter’s first week.

AMC Deduction

AMC will be charged at the end of every quarter, depending on the corpus available in the account at the end of the quarter. CRAs will collect the AMC at each quarter-end by raising an invoice to the entity where employers bear the CRA charges. In case of other subscribers, it will deduct NPS units from the account.