NPS generated good returns for subscribers, says PFRDA Chairman

PFRDA Chairman Supratim Bandyopadhyay on Monday said pension product NPS has generated good returns for the subscribers over the last 12 years, and one must start early to reap the benefits of the product, which is very flexible in nature.

"Over a period of 12 years, the returns under equity schemes are more than 12 per cent, and in government securities, it was close to 9.9 per cent, and in corporate bonds, despite some credit events that we have seen, we have seen a CAGR of more than 9.59 per cent. Fortunately, our pension fund assets were, to a great extent, protected from post-credit events.

"Currently, we are sitting on a total corpus of about Rs 6.85 trillion. The returns have been quite good," Bandyopadhyay said while speaking at CII Insurance & Pensions Summit on 'Indian Insurance Sector Riding the Wave of Change'.

NPS gives a lot of flexibility, but the only thing is that a person has to start early, said the chairman of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

"There is flexibility in the sense that just for keeping an account running, you have to pay only Rs 1,000. There is no fixed contribution, and you can contribute up to whatever level, obviously under the PMLA ( Prevention of Money Laundering Act rules) and supported by all your known sources of income," he noted.

A lot more needs to be done to make India a pensioned society, and maybe the insurance sector regulator Irdai, PFRDA and industry body CII can come together to create a forum to raise awareness about pensions in the country, he added.

PFRDA provides two flagship pension schemes-- NPS and APY.

Whereas National Pension System (NPS) mainly caters to the organised sector employees, including the government, the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is mainly meant for those working in the unorganised sector in the economy.