National Pension System scheme: PFRDA issued guidelines for exit request

National Pension System issued a circular to upload Withdrawal/ KYC documents to enable parallel processing exit and annuity to benefit subscribers

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) issued a circular on February 22, 2023, mandating the National Pension Scheme (NPS) subscribers to upload a few documents effective April 1, 2023.

In the circular, the documents were made mandatory by PFRDA in the interest of subscribers to give them timely payment of annuity income. To leverage these benefits, subscribers need to upload their documents with effect from April 1.

Documents required to upload

The PFRDA asked all the subscribers and associated nodal officers/POPs/ Corporate to upload documents in their respective CRA user interface. The uploaded documents must be legible. Here is the list of documents required:

• NPS Exit/ Withdrawal Form
• Proof of Identity and Address as specified in the Withdrawal form
• Bank account Proof
• Copy of PRAN card

Steps for processing Exit requests by subscribers (Government or Non-Government) - Online Mode

Exit requests by subscribers

1. First, log in to your CRA system to initiate an exit request
2. Subscribers will receive relevant messages regarding e-Sign/OTP authentication, authorization of request by Nodal Office/POP etc. 
3. Details like address, Bank details, nominee details etc. will be auto-populated from the NPS account at the time of subscribers initiation.
4. Subscribers need to select their fund allocation percentage for lump sum/annuity, annuity details, etc. 
5. Subscriber's bank details will be verified via online Bank Account Verification (Penny drop facility).
6. They must upload KYC documents such as s (Identity & Address Proof), copy of PRAN card/ePRAN and Bank Proof during the submission of exit request.

Subscribers will authorise the request with the following process to make it paperless:

• a. OTP Authentication: Distinct OTPs will be delivered on the Mobile Number and email ID of the Subscribers.
• b. e-Sign: Subscribers will e-Sign the request using Aadhaar. 

To exit the National Pension Scheme, you can withdraw the funds before or after reaching the retirement age of 60. On exit, they can utilise 40 per cent of the accumulated amount to purchase an annuity from an Annuity Service Provider (ASP). The balance amount can be withdrawn lump sum if the amount is less than 5 lakhs.