PFRDA Issues Revised Charge Structure For NPS Schemes From October 1, 2026

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has announced a revised charge structure for Points of Presence (PoPs) across all National Pension System (NPS) and NPS Lite Schemes. According to a circular dated August 28, 2026, the new fees will take effect on October 1, 2026.

Onboarding Fees

The new directive supersedes PFRDA’s previous circular dated March 10, 2026, which previously governed PoP charges for Common Schemes, including NPS Vatsalya and NPS Lite. The new circular removes the distinction between Common Schemes and the schemes under Multiple Scheme Framework (MSF) for the purpose of PoP charges.

According to the revised circular, a standard one-time onboarding charge of Rs 200 per Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) will be applicable and will be deducted quarterly as Rs 50 by Central Recordkeeping Agencies (CRAs) through unit cancellation. These charges will be payable to PoPs in the month after onboarding the subscriber.

It’s important to know that the charges remain the same. However, until now these were applied per new account and now they will apply on a per-PRAN basis. 

Here are the old and the new clauses of the PFRDA circulars.

Old Circular:

“Rs. 200/- per new account (equivalent of Rs. 50/- on quarterly basis will be deducted through cancellation of units by CRA/s and payable to PoP in the month subsequent to the quarter in which on-boarding is completed).”

New circular:

“Rs. 200/- per PRAN (equivalent of Rs. 50/- on quarterly basis will be deducted through cancellation of units by CRA(s) and payable to PoP in the month subsequent to the quarter in which on-boarding is completed).”

Further, if a subscriber joins completely through digital mode (a non-face-to-face mode), he/she will be eligible for a reduced, one-time onboarding charge of Rs 100. Other charges, including the minimum Rs 250 at onboarding and Rs 10 for subsequent transactions, will remain the same.

Asset Management Charges

The Asset Under Management (AUM) annual charges of 0.20 per cent will apply to “all schemes” other than dormant accounts. These will be adjusted through the net asset value (NAV) and will be payable quarterly along with GST and other taxes.

The dormant accounts are completely exempt from annual AUM charges. Notably, a dormant account will be identified by a unique PAN across CRAs, in which no contribution has been made for four consecutive quarters after a contribution in a quarter.  

Digital Contribution Charges

The subscribers who onboarded directly through e-NPS and made the initial and subsequent contribution through e-NPS or D-Remit are not liable to pay any PoP charges. However, those who onboarded via a PoP but made payment through e-NPS or D-Remit will remain liable to pay PoP charges.  

PFRDA has mandated the PoPs to publicly display their updated charge structures on their websites and immediately alert stakeholders. According to the circular, this information must be conveyed clearly to subscribers through pop-up notifications during transaction processes.

The CRAs will implement this revised structure from the third quarter of financial year 2026-27, which means from October 1, 2026.