NPS: How do contributions to and withdrawal from National Pension System are taxed?
Question: Kindly guide us on the tax benefits associated with making contributions and withdrawal to/from the National Pension System.

EPF claims: Provident fund body rejigs multi-location claim settlement arrangement; details here
Source Credit: mint

To facilitate multi-location claim settlement within the prescribed time limits, Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has come up with an arrangement wherein 19 regional offices are linked to 36 collaborating regional offices.

EPFO Auto Claim Settlement: Now, your advance claims can be settled in 3 days
Good news for EPFO subscribers! Now, advance claims are being settled within 3 days, reducing the service delivery time by a significant margin.

EPFO enhances scope of auto-mode of claim settlement
In a bid to enhance ease of living for its millions of members, Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has now introduced auto-mode settlement of advance claims for the purpose of education & marriage and housing, a government release said.

EPFO introduces auto claim settlement for education, marriage, housing
The EPFO has expanded the scope of auto claim settlement facility under para 68K and 68B of EPF Scheme, 1952 to housing, marriage and education purposes, the labour ministry said in a statement on Monday. 

EPFO extends auto claim settlement facility to education, marriage and housing advance

NPS All Citizen Model marks 15-year anniversary: Who has been the star performer?
It has been 15 years since the National Pension System (All Citizen Model) was launched, back in May 2009. Since then, NPS schemes have become a crucial part of retirement planning for Indian citizens.

CPSEs encouraged to join NPS as Finance Ministry steps up efforts
In a significant move, the Department of Public Enterprises(DPE) in the Finance Ministry has shot off letters to various Administrative Ministries and government departments to sensitise the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) under their control about the benefits of adopting National Pension System (NPS) for their employees. As of March 2024, 76 CPSEs have already adopted NPS to extend the pension benefit to their employees. Sources said the latest DPE letter has been sent to the Chief Executive Officers of about 120 CPSEs (which have yet to adopt NPS for their employees).

Tata Pension Management eyeing break even in 2025-26, says CEO Kurian Jose
New Delhi: Tata Pension Management, a recent entrant in pension fund management space, is looking to break-even in 2025-26, its Chief Executive Officer Kurian Jose has said.

EPFO to challenge HC ruling against inclusion of foreign workers under its ambit

Inclusion of foreign workers in PF unconstitutional: High Court

PFRDA hosts round table meeting to promote National Pension System adoption among corporates

EPF Claim Settlement: How many days does it take for an employee’s provident fund claim to process? Here’s what EPFO says
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) allows an employee to contribute a certain percentage of the basic salary towards provident fund. As per EPFO norms, the employee has to contribute 12% of his basic pay, which is equally matched by his employer, towards the EPF account. Of the employer’s 12% contribution, 8.33% goes towards employees’ pension scheme (EPS) and 3.67% towards provident fund. On the other hand, the employee’s entire contribution of 12% goes to provident fund.

Pension department launches integrated portal for govt retirees: Know more
 

Pension plan for unorganised sector sees only 5 mn subscribers in 5 years
This has raised questions on the viability and effectiveness of the scheme in providing social security to millions of unorganised sector workers.

Seamless Onboarding: Max Life Pension targets 400 corporates this year, says CEO Ranbheer Singh Dhariwal
Max Life Pension Fund Management Ltd (MLPF), a recent entrant in pension fund management space, is on a scaling up mode, aiming to onboard atleast 400 corporates this financial year, Ranbheer Singh Dhariwal, Chief Executive Officer has said. In 2023-24, which was the company’s first full year of operations, as many as 105 corporates were onboarded out of which 80 were new to National Pension System (NPS), Dhariwal told Businessline here in an interview. This company is also looking to ramp up its individual NPS subscriber count from 8,500  now to about 30,000 by end March 2025, he added. 

National Pension System: Top 5 changes in NPS rules you must know in 2024
NPS (National Pension System) is an easy-to-invest, tax-efficient retirement scheme. Under the NPS scheme, you and your employer both can contribute to build a corpus for your post-retirement years, ensuring your social security and welfare.

PFRDA implements transparency measures in rule-making process
Pension regulator PFRDA has now implemented a mechanism for making and reviewing regulations, bringing more transparency and certainty in the rule-making process. This mechanism among other things provides that the regulator would be guided by an “economic analysis” of the proposed regulations before they are accepted and operationalised.  The “economic analysis” would include expected direct and indirect costs and benefits to subscribers, the economy, and society, due to the proposed regulation.  Also the “economic analysis” would have to delve into how the proposed regulations would further the objectives of the Act and the cost of not having the proposed regulations. 

Pension scheme for unorganised sector logs 5 mn subscribers in 5 years

The data collected from the Maandhan portal shows that the pension scheme crossed the five million subscriber mark in April 2024. While 4.3 million people had joined the scheme in financial year 20, merely 130,000 people had joined the scheme in financial year 21, followed by 161,000 subscribers in the subsequent financial year. Close to 255,000 people had exited the scheme in financial year 22, thus further deteriorating the subscriber base, and added nearly 600,000 subscribers in financial year 24.

NPS assets surge 27.85% y-o-y as of April 20 at ₹11.73 lakh crore
New Delhi: Aided by roaring equity markets, National Pension System (NPS) assets under management (AUM) recorded a robust 27.85 per cent y-o-y growth as of April 20 at ₹ 11.73 lakh crore (₹ 9.17 lakh crore), latest PFRDA data showed. The overall AUM, including that of Atal Pension Yojana (APY), was flat compared to the end March 2024 level of ₹ 11.73 lakh crore. 

EPF Interest for FY24: When will employees’ provident fund interest be credited? Here’s what EPFO has to say
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) announced the interest rate on employees’ provident fund for FY2023-24 in February. The retirement fund body raised the interest rate by 10 basis points (bps) to 8.25% for the last fiscal year, 8.15% in the preceding year. This is the highest interest rate on EPF deposits in the last three years.

Pension regulator shortlists four bidders for digitisation project
Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has shortlisted four bidders for technical evaluation to select a system integrator (SI) for its digital platform PFRDA-TRACE. The four chosen bidders are Bahwan Cybertek; Inspira Enterprise India; NEC Corporation India; and Trigyn Technologies, sources said.

EPFO considers higher minimum wage cap 10 years after last hike
The issue has been discussed in successive central board of trustee (CBT) meetings, which is the apex decision making body of the social security organisation, according to the minutes of the meetings seen by Business Standard. 
 

EPFO net subscribers’ addition grows over 19% to 1.65 cr in FY24
New Delhi: Retirement fund body EPFO registered over 19 per cent growth year-on-year to 1.65 crore members in 2023-24, as per the latest payroll data, showing improvement in the employment situation in the country.

EPF rule change: Now you can claim partial withdrawal up to ₹1 lakh for medical treatment
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has ordered to enhance the existing eligibility limit of 68J claims for withdrawal from ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh now.

New EPFO Rule: Limit of auto claim settlements under this section doubled: Know how much a subscriber can withdraw
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has enhanced the existing eligibility limit of auto claim settlements under Paragraph 68J to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000 erlier, according to a circular issued on Tuesday.

PF balance transfers go automatic
When a salaried employee switches jobs, her provident fund (PF) balance will now get automatically transferred to the new employer without any documentation. The account will get seamlessly transferred the moment the new employer deposits the PF contribution from the employee’s first month’s salary.

NPS vs PPF: Which retirement plan should you choose?
Creating a good retirement corpus requires consistent investments over a long period of time. Considering inflation and growing life expectancy, individuals should allocate a portion of their income for post-retirement expenses. Experts recommend developing a detailed investment plan and starting investments early to allow sufficient time for money to grow and meet financial goals.

Welfare pension disbursal almost complete in AP
The disbursal of welfare pensions in Andhra Pradesh, which was halted due to the model of code of conduct for ensuing elections, has almost been completed.

Strong Show. NPS assets under management record 30.5% YoY growth in 2023-24
Aided by a strong showing from non-government sector, the National Pension System (NPS) assets under management (AUM) recorded a robust 30.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in 2023-24 to touch ₹ 11.73 lakh Crore (₹ 8.98 lakh crore), latest PFRDA data showed. This growth was largely fuelled by the 9.47 lakh new subscribers who onboarded NPS from the non-government sector. Of these 9.47 lakh new subscribers, 8.10 lakh were from the ‘all citizen model ‘ and 1.37 lakh were Corporate employees.