Govt mulls separating PFRDA from govt staff trust, setting up pvt sector pension trusts

With an aim to strengthen the pension fund regulatory body's regulating role, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday proposed amendments in the PFRDA Act and forming of pension trusts by employees other than government.

Presenting the Union Budget 2020-21, the minister also proposed separating the role of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India (PFRDA) from that of trust for government employees.

"Regulating role of PFRDAI requires strengthening. Necessary amendments would be carried out in Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority of India Act that will also facilitate separation of NPS trust for government employees from PFRDAI," Sitharaman said in her Budget speech in Parliament.

The Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority Act was passed in September, 2013 and came to effect from February, 2014.

This would also enable establishment of a pension trust by the employees other than government, the minister said.

"I am confident that this will motivate citizens to plan for their old age," she added.

Further, to help easy mobility while in jobs, she said the government wishes to infuse into the universal pension coverage with auto enrolment.

"Also, we wish to place such mechanisms which can enable inter-operability and provide safeguards for the accumulated corpus," she said.

The PFRDA regulates the National Pension System (NPS), subscribed by employees of central and state governments as well as by employees of private sector organizations those in unorganised sectors.

It also administers Atal Pension Yojana (APY), which mainly caters to the unorganised sector and low income groups.

As of November 9, 2019, the overall number of NPS and APY subscribers in the country crossed 3.12 crore with Asset under Management (AUM) of over Rs 3.85 lakh crore, as per the PFRDA data.