Summary of this article
PFRDA has extended the NPS contribution cut-off time from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM for contributions received by the Trustee Bank.
Such contributions, when successfully matched with the CRA file, will get same-day NAV.
The revised timeline applies across contribution channels, including government nodal offices, corporates, PoPs, eNPS, D-Remit, UPI, BBPS, STAR NPS, and Tatkal NPS.
The Pension Fund Development and Regulatory Authority (PFRDA) has announced an extension of the daily cut-off time by two-and-a-half hours for contribution investment. Under the new guidelines, the deadline for the Trustee bank to receive contributions for same-day investment has been changed from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM on a business settlement day, which effectively means a longer window for subscribers and intermediaries to get the same-day net asset value (NAV) on the investment made in a day.
According to PFRDA, this adjustment is part of the efforts to improve subscribers’ experience by facilitating same-day NAV for investments that reach the Trustee bank by 1:30 PM. Here, the critical factor is when the Trustee bank receives the contribution, and not when the subscriber initiates the payment.
Same-Day NAV Allotment
Any contribution that reaches the Trustee bank by 1:30 PM on a working day will be considered for the same-day investment, and the units will be allotted based on that day’s NAV. PFRDA has appointed Axis Bank as its Trustee bank.
According to the process, the Trustee bank is responsible for managing day-to-day banking operations of funds under the scheme, including timely receipt, transfer, and disbursement of funds, receiving contribution from subscribers, nodal officers, intermediaries, etc., matching the contribution with the central recordkeeping agency (CRA) data, then transferring the funds to the respective pension funds for investment within the stipulated timeline, while simultaneously processing withdrawals and payments.
With the time extension, investments are expected to reflect the most current market valuation under the regulatory framework.
Scope Across Contribution Channels
PFRDA has clarified that this extended cut-off time is not limited to a specific group, but to all categories of National Pension System (NPS) contributions. These categories include government nodal offices, corporate, points of presence (PoPs), eNPS, D-Remit, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and payment systems like Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), StAR NPS, and Tatkal NPS.
PFRDA said that any other channel operationalised in the future will also fall under this updated schedule.
To ensure that the extension benefits reach the subscribers, PFRDA has issued a ‘call to action’ to all associated intermediaries. According to the notification, all concerned intermediaries have been “advised to suitably align their operational and technology processes with the revised cut-off time and ensure timely transmission and processing of NPS contributions to facilitate seamless implementation of the same-day investment framework”.
By providing an extended window of two-and-a-half hours, PFRDA aims to streamline the NPS intermediary architecture and ensure that subscribers’ money is put to work more quickly.
