New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is targeting a massive expansion of the National Pension System (NPS), with the regulator aiming to increase the number of non-government subscribers to 35-40 crore over the next five years from around 90 lakh currently.
PFRDA Chairman Sivasubramanian Ramann reportedly announced the ambitious target at an outreach event in Kolkata on Friday. He said the regulator expects the growing use of digital technology in the pension sector to help add around 2-3 crore subscribers to the system every year.
The proposed expansion would require NPS to significantly widen its reach beyond its traditional base of salaried employees and government-linked subscribers. The regulator is looking to bring a much larger number of private-sector workers, self-employed individuals and other non-government subscribers into the pension ecosystem.
Technology-led access and wider distribution networks are expected to play a key role in achieving the target. Ramann said PFRDA wants to replicate the scale achieved by the Atal Pension Yojana (APY), which has crossed 10 crore subscribers with the help of banks and regional rural banks.
PFRDA has also been working to strengthen the digital infrastructure around NPS through the StAR NPS platform developed by BSE Technologies, according to the reports. In a circular issued in June, the regulator said the platform would enable technology-driven assisted onboarding through Points of Presence and their associated pension agents, including mutual fund distributors.
The platform is intended to link the onboarding process with Central Recordkeeping Agencies and the Trustee Bank while enabling digital verification and other related processes. PFRDA believes such technology-enabled processes can make NPS easier to access and allow the scheme to leverage existing financial distribution networks.
Mutual fund distributors could consequently play a bigger role in expanding NPS coverage. PFRDA is encouraging distributors to become pension agents and use their existing customer base to increase awareness and participation in the retirement savings scheme.
Meanwhile, the regulator has also approved four new pension funds, taking the total number of pension funds under the NPS framework to 14, Ramann said in Kolkata.
–IANS
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