New Pension Scheme (NPS)

The New Pension Scheme (NPS) is a government of India initiative to extend pension benefits to all Indian citizens. Any individual whether employed with private sector, self employed or professional can now avail of pension benefits and plan his or her retirement by enrolling in this scheme. The NPS is by far the least complicated, simplest and the lowest cost pension scheme. As the scheme is regulated by the government of India, it is one of the most safe investment options with complete capital protection.

There are no guarantees on investment as the NPS is a defined contribution plan and the benefits would depend on the amount invested and the investment growth up to the point of exit from the NPS. Being a market-linked product, it does not guarantee returns or inflation protection.

NPS for Government Employees:

All government employees (central and state) who joined the services after January 1, 2004 will no longer have general provident fund (GPF) account, but a mandatory NPS account. NPS will work on defined contribution basis and will have two parts-Tier I and Tier II. Government employees can exit after 60 years of age, from Tier I scheme and it will be mandatory for them to invest 40 per cent of pension amount to purchase an annuity through a life insurance company. In case a member wants to leave NPS before 60, the mandatory annuity will be 80 per cent of the pension amount.

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