CENTRAL GOVT APPROVED CHANGES IN PFRDA BILL

Cabinet nod for 26% FDI in pension sector

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved changes in the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill, which will also pave the way for 26% foreign investment in pension fund management companies, officials said.

The PFRDA bill, which has been pending for long, is now expected to be taken up for approval in the Winter Session of Parliament starting on November 22. Officials said the Cabinet decided there would be no guarantee of assured returns on pension fund schemes. Earlier, the government had released contours of the bill but had side-stepped the issue of foreign investment limit in the sector to avoid any controversy. Even now, the FDI limit will not form part of the bill but will be included in the revised regulations.

Several policymakers and experts had backed the idea of allowing 26% FDI in pension fund management companies, similar to the foreign investment norms in the insurance sector. "The government is of the view that FDI cap in the pension (sector) should be at 26%, at par with the insurance sector. However, it would like to retain the flexibility of changing the cap of FDI as and when required and that is why it has not been kept as part of the bill," an official said.

The legislation, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 24, was sent to the Standing Committee. It was examined by a panel headed by former finance minister Yashwant Sinha. The panel had asked the government to set the FDI cap in the legislation and had suggested providing minimum returns to pension fund subscribers.

Officials said the government has also rejected the suggestion for providing greater flexibility to subscribers to withdraw funds from their accounts. "The flexibility of withdrawals from funds under the pension scheme, however, would be tightened. It would be allowed only in case of genuine needs... It would be considered when the need is critical. It will not be allowed for frivolous reasons," the official said.

The government upheld the panel's suggestion for greater participation of employees and stakeholders in the Pension Advisory Committee. The PFRDA Bill, if approved, will also pave the way for conferring statutory backing to the authority for promotional, developmental and regulatory functions in the pension fund sector. The UPA government has lined up several key legislations for the Winter Session and has reached out to the Opposition parties for their support in getting them approved.

The Manmohan Singh-led government has been on the back foot after a string of scandals emerged since last year. The government expects to get the key bills approved, which would help dispel doubts about its ability to move ahead with reforms. The UPA government has also been trying to raise FDI limit in the insurance sector to 49% from the existing 26% but has met with resistance from Opposition parties. The move has been pending in Parliament for several years now. The National Pension Scheme, launched in January 2004, has nearly 24 lakh subscribers, mostly those employed by the federal government. Employees Provident Fund Organisation subscribers get 9.5% return on their savings.

Courtesy :TOI

New Pension System: Govt to strengthen PoPs

The Government is looking at ways to popularise the new pension system (NPS) by strengthening the distribution base to reach out to the informal sector, a finance ministry official said today.

Of the total 24 lakh subscribers of NPS, only around 45,000 are from the informal sector. NPS is a government-run retirement scheme for individuals, including those in the unorganised sector.

“We are aiming at increasing the subscriber base by way of strengthening Points-of-Presence (PoPs), which will enable us to reach out to people,” the official said.

PoPs are the first points of interaction with NPS subscribers. Authorised branches act as collection points and extend customer services. There are about 30 PoPs in the country at present.

The official said the ministry is looking at ways to reduce expenditure and reach out to people to increase participation.

“We need to increase awareness among people about NPS. We are trying to find ways to reduce distribution expenses and involve state agencies to reach out to the informal sector,'' the official said.

Of the total NPS subscribers, over 7.92 lakh are central government employees, 9,042 are from private companies and 41,826 are employees from central autonomous bodies. About 7.84 lakh subscribers are from state governments.

Earlier this year, a committee set up by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) had suggested substantial lowering of the cost of buying NPS, besides providing incentives to distributors.

The report also recommended bringing down the minimum annual subscription of Rs 6,000 for the main NPS to Rs 1,000 per year to ease the entry barrier for investors. It would also help attract lower-end customers towards NPS.

NPS, launched for all citizens in May 2009, failed to take-off due to lack of sales ‘push’. So far it has attracted only 50,000 individual buyers, out of the over 400 million workforce in the country.

Source:The hindu

New Pension Scheme overhaul to see cost cut, more record-keepers

The government will slash the New Pension Scheme's account maintenance costs to a third to make it more attractive to workers in the informal sector. The finance ministry has asked the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority to cut the annual fee to about Rs 100 from Rs 280 by breaking the monopoly of the scheme's current record-keeper , National Securities Depository.

The NPS, floated for civil servants in 2004, was opened to all citizens in May 2009 to provide a pension option to 360 million informal sector workers bereft of any old-age income security. But, so far only 51,000 people have joined voluntarily. Although the scheme's fund management fee is very low at 0.0084%, the annual record-keeping costs are high at Rs 352, comprising a flat fee of Rs 280 and a monthly transaction fee of Rs 6.

On a minimum investment of Rs 500 a month, the two expenses total 5.87% of the savings, nearly thrice the fee charged by a mutual fund. "The cost of NPS should be brought down in the interest of consumers," said a finance ministry official. The proposal for a second central record-keeping agency, or CRA, would be taken up at the upcoming PFRDA board meeting.

This annual fee, including fund management charges, was as low as 2-3 % for some equity-linked mutual funds and if the charges were brought down to Rs 100 annually, an NPS account holder will only have to pay around 1.6% towards CRA charges , he said.

The ministry's decision follows recommendations made by a committee, headed by former Sebi Chairman GN Bajpai, which said that PFRDA should consider inducting a few more recordkeepers as was originally planned. "The flat charges of the NPS are very steep, which tilts the scheme in favour of wealthier investors," the committee had noted.

"In fact, it is likely that the bottom-of-the-pyramid customers end up cross-subsidising the wealthier investors," the Bajpai report said, pointing out that the fixed charges on account maintenance and transaction charges form a large proportion of small investors' pension savings.

TRANSACTION COSTS

Apart from the account maintenance costs, financial intermediaries who route pension contributions to the fund managers also charge Rs 20 per transaction. This adds up another Rs 240 a year. Moreover, NSDL charges Rs 50 for opening an account while PFRDA-appointed financial intermediaries charge Rs 40.

So the flat costs imposed on investors in their first year of opening an NPS account further rises by Rs 90. According to a PFRDA official, a second CRA will bring in more competition, automatically balancing the current charges. "It was earlier decided to go with one CRA until the sector stabilises , but now it is important to bring in other players to reduce the cost," he said.

Many players, including Central Depository Securities, have evinced interest and the recordkeeping fee would go as low as Rs 100, he said. "The first time we invited bids for record-keepers , six agencies had applied. We expect to see the same response."

Courtesy: Economic Times 

What the government must do to make New Pension System more acceptable

The recommendation of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance to devise a mechanism to ensure a minimum assured return to subscribers of New Pension System (NPS) flies against the raison d'etreof the NPS, to reduce the burden of pension on government finances.

The entire rationale of the shift from the pre-NPS defined-benefit pension scheme (where pensioners are assured of a specified pension) to the defined-contribution NPS (where there is no such assurance) is to rein in the government's growing pension liabilities.

That will be defeated if the government gives an assured return, as the parliamentary panel has suggested. Yet the panel is right to point out that in the absence of a guarantee, the NPS cannot claim to provide old-age income security.

True, most countries have moved from defined-benefit to defined-contribution pensions. But there is usually some minimum social security either in the form of a Pillar I pension or some other form. In contrast, NPS subscribers in India have no such cushion.

So, the panel's suggestion that the minimum rate of return on NPS contributions should not be less than the interest rate on the employee provident fund scheme and any shortfall should be made good from the Budget, has merit. In practice, this should not be very difficult.

As long as the EPF rate is not way off-market, there is no reason why fund managers can't be asked to match it. After all, pension reform was never meant to be only about reducing the government's burden.

It was also meant to extend the coverage of a formal pension scheme to the vast majority outside the privileged class of government employees.

For them, the NPS opened a new option; especially when beginning early 2009, the scheme was opened to the non-government sector as well.

But if the scheme has found few takers to date, despite having close to 85% of the working population without any formal pension scheme, it is because it falls short on the single-most important criterion of any pension scheme, one that offers old-age security certainty.

Till then, the NPS will not find many takers, especially among those who need it most - the less well-to-do.

Courtesy:ET

Open national pension system(NPS) to EPF members

India's pension fund regulator Yogesh Agarwal is clear that the national pension system (NPS) is a sound vehicle to build a retirement nest.

Yet, it has few volunteer individual members. The reasons are well-known. There's no incentive for anyone to market the NPS, its transaction costs are high for a small contributor and the fund management charges are waferthin, depriving fund managers of incentives to perform. Agarwal is keen on a coursecorrection, but says he needs to take the government into confidence before making any changes in the incentive structure. "After all, we can't forget that 75% of the funds are from the central government quota," he says.

The NPS, set up to manage pension funds of civil servants who joined service after January 1, 2004 and later volunteer members, has over 2.4 million subscribers. "We made a fundamental mistake while extending NPS to the so-called unorganised sector or volunteer members. We forgot that someone had to play a role in marketing the product and that necessarily involved incentivisation. We simply assumed that the NPS would sell like hot-cakes. Given the state of financial literacy in the country, it was wrong to presume that investors would opt for NPS among competing financial products. There is need for an appropriate incentive structure to market the NPS," he says.

And that's essentially what apanel, chaired by the former Sebi chairman G N Bajpai, has recommended. It has suggested better financial incentives for distributors or the so-called points of presence (PoPs) - banks and financial institutions - that open NPS accounts for subscribers. Is it a good idea to pay the distributor a 0.5% commission on the amount that subscribers regularly save? Agarwal is non-committal, saying that a view is yet to be taken on the panel's recommendations. "I can't give you a time-frame as we need to consult the government before taking a decision.

But it's not necessarily the PoPs that need to be incentivised. Incentives can be given directly to the pension fund managers (PFMs) themselves. Ultimately, they are the biggest stakeholders in the whole system. At the moment, the management fee of PFMs is close to nil and, hence, they do not want to invest in promoting the scheme. Once you improve the management fees, they will have an incentive to market the scheme."

Doesn't it make sense for the government to spend money on distribution, transaction and asset management costs instead of giving a subsidy of Rs 1,000 to every voluntary NPS account? Agarwal disagrees, saying that the poor need such an incentive. Around 7.4 lakh are enrolled under NPS (Lite), meant to accumulate a retirement corpus for low-income workers.

He, however, concedes that both the volume and scale of NPS can be increased, at one stroke, if workers are allowed to migrate from the archaic Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to the NPS.

Courtesy:ET

WHOSE WHO ON NEW PENSION SCHEME

Gist of the instructions/ Guidelines issued by Postal Directorate at three level for fruitful implementation of New Pension Scheme in respect of Employees appointed on or after 01.01.2004.

  1.    At Circle Level

1. Copy of every appointment letter and joining report of the new entrants to Government service on or after 01.01.2004 and onwards, must be endorsed to the concerned director of Accounts (Postal).


2. A monthly-consolidated statement of new entrants to Government service should be furnished to Directors of Accounts (Postal) in the Ist week of the month following the month of appointment/ Joining of the new entrants


3. The Head of Circles are also required to keep liaison so as to monitor the correctness of data regarding new entrants, their contribution and the matching contribution of the employer.


4. In case there is no appointment during a month, a NIL report must be sent to the Director of Accounts (Postal).

2.    At DDO’s level:

1. DDO’s must obtain the Names, Designation, Scale of Pay, Date of Birth, nominee for the Fund, Relationship of the nominee etc. from the entrants on their joining.


2.  DDO’s to paste one copy of the above in Service Book and another copy must be sent to Director of Accounts (Postal) concerned.


3. Ensure separate Pay Bill for new entrants.


4. First salary drawls intimation to Director of accounts (Postal) for Number of new entrants.


5. A NIL report must be furnished for non-recruitment.


6. First recovery from the salary of the month following the month of Joining of the Government servant.


7. Tier-I recovery is 10% Basic Pay+DP+DA+NPA now it is 10% of Band Pay+ Grade Pay+ DA+NPA.


8. Separate bill for drawing matching contribution i.e. Employer’s share.


9. Annual Increment is to be accounted for reckoning employees as well as Employer’s contribution.


10. DA arrear /arrear of Pay reckoned for employees and employers contribution.


11. Indicate Unique (PPAN) number now (PRAN) and month up to which government Employees as well as Employer’s Contribution transferred in LPC of the officer / officials transferred.


12. No GPF Contribution for new entrants.


13. The DDO will be held responsible for any lapse in following of the above instructions.


14.  Noting of PPAN/PRAN in Service Book of the officials.


15.  Forwarding of S1 (physical forms) for registration of subscribers with CRA to PAOs

3.    At Director of Accounts (Postal) level :

• Assignment of PRAN No. to subscribers by NSDL on receipt of first information from DDO’s well before drawl of II salary. Previously it was 16 digits unique number and now it is 12 digits unique number.


• To match the number of the new entrant’s figures on the basis of reports received with the Circle figures.


• To reconcile the difference in number of new entrants.


• To ensure correct classification of Contribution.


• Branch Officers of the concerned Postal Accounts Office should ensure that the complete information is sent and must certify the correctness of the information.


• Submission of physical form (S1) to NSDL Facilitation Centers.


• Uploading of SCF to NPS-CAN (NSDL Software) for transfer of funds through Trustee Bank.


• Strict over matched and booked figures.

Courtesy : http://ipaspassociationpunjab.blogspot.com/

Save Tax with New Pension Scheme (NPS) now

     The New Pension Scheme (NPS) has so far not seen too many takers after the government opened the scheme to the public in 2009. However, the investment scenario will most likely change in favour of NPS once the proposals under thelatest Direct Taxes Code (DTC) are implemented.

This is because the DTC has proposed to include NPS in the list of investments that are eligible for tax deduction under Section 80C. These developments make NPS an interesting investment avenue. This week, ET Intelligence Group brings you all that you would want to know about NPS. We will also discuss in length about the various schemes available under NPS and their performance.

NPS is a defined contribution scheme wherein an individual can open a tier I account and invest a regular sum of money till retirement. Professional fund managers manage funds invested under the scheme. At the time of retirement, investors can avail as a lump-sum a maximum of 60% of the total pension wealth generated by NPS over the years.

NPS now open to all citizens between 18-55 years

Originally started for central and state government employees, the scheme is now open to any Indian citizen between the age of 18 and 55. The retirement age is fixed at 60 years.

Individuals do have the flexibility to leave the pension system prior to age 60. The investor also has the option of opening a tier II account, which permits voluntary savings that can be withdrawn at any point of time.

But to be eligible to open a tier II account, one needs a tier I account.

Modus operandi

The government has set up the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) to monitor the NPS. To open an NPS account, pick up the NPS registration form (UOS-S1) either from PFRDA's website or from point of presence (PoP). There are 22-registered PoP's that have authorised branches to act as collection points and extend services to customers. For a detailed cost structure, refer the adjacent table.

Once you submit the duly filled forms to PoP, Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA) will process it and provide you with a permanent retirement account number (PRAN). PRAN will be the primary means of identifying and operating the NPS account. You will also receive a telephone password (TPIN) and an internet password (IPIN) to access your account.

At the time of registration, you need to make your first contribution to the plan. The minimum investment limit is Rs 500 a month or Rs 6,000 annually. Subscribers are required to contribute at least once a quarter but there is no ceiling on how many times you invest during the year.

Swavalamban makes NPS attractive for investors

To make the scheme attractive to the lower strata of investors the finance minister has made an interesting proposal, Swavalamban.

Under this, the government will contribute Rs 1,000 per year for the next three years to each NPS account opened in the year 2010-11. But this is available for accounts with a minimum contribution of Rs 1,000 and a maximum contribution of Rs 12,000 per annum.

In case of failure to make payment, NPS account holders need to pay a penalty of Rs 100 per year along with the regular contribution outstanding to reactivate the account. Also, dormant accounts will be closed when the account value falls to zero.

Choice of investment

The NPS offers two investment options to invest. The first one is an active approach. Under this, the individual can invest in a pension fund approved by PFRDA. Currently, there are seven approved pension fund management companies floated by financial houses including LIC, SBI, ICICI, Kotak, Reliance, UTI and IDFC. Each of them provides few pension funds to choose from.

Under the active approach, you can also decide the proportion in which the sum will be invested in equity (E), debt (G) and balanced funds(C). While one can choose to invest entire pension wealth in C or G asset classes, only a maximum of 50% can be invested in E. A combination of all the three can be opted, for medium risk and return approach.

For those who find it difficult to select a pension fund, a second investment option of auto choice is available. Here, the fund is invested in the various asset classes based on the age of the pension account holder. Those who are young with high risk return appetite will have higher exposure to equity. As the age increases this exposure reduces accordingly.

Remember choice of investment option and pension fund rests with you, so make your choice carefully. Though one can switch among the pension fund schemes and houses, a switch from active investment to auto investment or viceversa is not allowed.

Benefits

Upon attaining 60 years, you can buy an annuity with a minimum of 40% of the pension fund and take the rest of the pension wealth as lumpsum. In case you wish to leave the pension system prior to age 60 then you have to invest 80% of the pension wealth in annuity schemes, while the rest 20% is taken as lumpsum.

You can purchase annuity from any life insurance company recognised by the insurance regulator Irda. In case of a demise of the pensioner, the lumpsum pension wealth available is given to the nominee. NPS is one of the most cost efficient investments.

The latest DTC proposals as and when implemented would make NPS a preferred choice of investment for tax saving.

Source: Economic Times & http://www.investmentkit.com/

NPS yearly statement of transaction- Frequently Asked Questions

We know that all New Pension Scheme accounts of Central Government Employees are maintained by NSDL which has been appointed by PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority).  The following are frequently asked questions relating to Yearly Statement of Transaction for the New Pension Scheme Contribution by the Central Government employees.  This statement is sent by NSDL to all subscribers of NPS mentioning the contribution by the employee during the year and current value of the total contribution made so far by the employee in the New Pension Scheme.

When Transaction Statements are dispatched?

Transaction Statement (TS) was dispatched between last week of August and first week of September .  In case of IRA (Individual Retirement Account) compliant subscribers, Transaction Statement was dispatched to the subscriber's communication address directly. In case of Non IRA subscribers, Transaction Statement was dispatched to the respective PAO in DDO-wise packets for onward distribution.

What may be the reasons for not receiving the Transaction Statement?

A Subscriber might not have received the Transaction Statement because of the following reasons:

·                               Subscriber's Account was not having any balances as on July 31, 2010.

·                               If the subscriber is a non-IRA compliant subscriber (S1 form not submitted to CRA), the Transaction Statement has been dispatched to the respective Nodal Office (PAO/CDDO). The TS may be in transit. The subscriber may contact the Nodal Office for the same.

For certain identified cases of duplicate/multiple PPANs which are yet to be resolved, Transaction Statement has not been despatched to the subscriber/Nodal Office.

CRA is dispatching the undelivered TS (which were sent to the subscribers directly) to the concerned Nodal Offices/ PrAOs. Further, the Subscriber can contact his Nodal Office for obtaining the copy of Transaction statement.

What is the period covered by this Transaction Statement?

The Transaction Statement despatched is for the period 01.04.2008 to 31.07.2010. The contribution credit date upto August 12, 2010 has been considered for the contributions pertaining to the month of July 2010. That is, the contributions pertaining to July 2010 and credited in subscriber's account till August 12, 2010 have been considered.

What is referred as opening balance in the Transaction Statement? From where can the breakup detail of Opening balance can be obtained?

The contribution details prior to 01.04.2008 (i.e. from 01.01.2004 to 31.03.2008) was provided to NSDL in a consolidated manner, i.e. no separate entries for each month were provided and hence that balance has been shown as opening balance in the transaction statement. For detailed break-up of contributions for the opening balance i.e., from 2004 to 2008, subscriber may contact his respective PAO/CDDO.

Why subscriber's address details are not appearing in Transaction Statement?

Initially, to facilitate faster credit of accumulated balance and monthly contribution, CRA generated the PRANs based on the minimum electronic data i.e., PPAN, Name & Date of Birth. The remaining details were updated based on the Form S1 submitted by the Subscriber. All such subscribers who are yet to fill the Form S1 should fill the same immediately and submit the same to the office concerned.

The subscriber for whom all the details are updated are termed as Individual Retirement Account (IRA) compliant subscribers and his Transaction Statement contains his address details in which the statement was dispatched.

The subscribers whose details are yet to be updated are termed as non-IRA compliant subscribers and their Transaction Statement was despatched to the concerned PAO for onward distribution to the subscribers. These statements contain the address details of the concerned DDO and PAO.

Why there are four blocks in the Transaction Statement?

The Transaction Statement has separate blocks for Pre-Unitisation and Post-Unitisation investments. Each block has two sections – 'Regular' and 'Arrear'.

Section A : Pre-Unitisation – Regular Contribution

Section B : Pre-Unitisation – Arrear Contribution

Why NAV (Net Asset Value) as Re. 1/- is mentioned in the Transaction Statement?

Unitisation refers to crediting of units as per the actual Net Asset Value (NAV) of the pension fund schemes. Section A & Section B is for Pre-Unitisation blocks.

Upto March 31, 2010, the credits appearing (i.e., Section A and B in the Transaction Statement) are actual contribution amounts and not units i.e., actual NAV and corresponding units are not being displayed. Once the decision of unitisation is received from Ministry of Finance/PFRDA, the same will be shown at the actual NAV.

Is the units appearing in Transaction Statement are the actual units credited to the subscriber?

Units mentioned in Section A & B are not the actual units as the decision for unitisation is pending for contribution received during that period. Units in Section C & D are actual units credited in the Subscriber account.

The daily NAV for each scheme of each PFM is published at the CRA website (www.npscra.nsdl.co.in). Subscriber can calculate Present Value of Units mentioned in Section C & D with the help of the NAVs published at the CRA site.

What may be the reason for non receipt of credits or short or excess credits in my account for some of the contributions?

The amount shown as contribution has been uploaded by the concerned PAO/CDDO. Some of the possibilities for non reflection of the amount are as follows

PAO/CDDO has not yet uploaded the record

PAO/CDDO has not transferred funds to Trustee Bank

The SCF for the record is still in uploaded status

Please contact the concerned office for discrepancies related to missing/short/excess contributions.

What is meant by 'date of matching and booking'?

In CRA terms, date of 'matching & booking' refers to the date on which the contribution details submitted by the PAO to CRA has been matched against the Funds remitted by the PAO to the Trustee Bank and the subscribers' account got credited with the contribution amount (units).

For Section A & B of Transaction Statement, matching and booking date is the date on which the subscriber account got credited.

However, for Section C & D, matching & booking date is the date of actual investment.

Why contribution for one month is appearing more than once?

In case the PAO has uploaded the contribution amount more than once (may be served under two different DDO), same will be appearing more than once.

Further, in case of multiple fund remittances by the PAO to the Trustee Bank for a single transaction id (where the PAO has transferred funds more than once for one month), the contribution amount will be splitted and shown as multiple credits.

What is the reason for the contribution to appear in decimal in Transaction Statement whereas the actual contribution is not in decimal?

The contribution amount has been allocated among the three pension fund managers as per the stipulated allocation ratio. The allocation is done upto 2 decimals. The allocation ratio between three PFMs is different across different periods. In cases of multiple fund remittance (refer Question No. 12), the subscriber contribution may have undergone splitting. Hence, the contribution is appearing in decimal.

What is the current value of the investment?

The investment value will be available only for contributions made after 31.03.2010 (i.e., investments appearing in section C and D). Present value (i.e. including the Return on Investment) cannot be calculated for investments made upto March 31, 2010 (appearing in section A & B) till unitisation is carried out. The NAV for all the pension fund schemes is available on the CRA website www.npscra.nsdl.co.in. Subscribers can calculate the present value of investments for the Units available in Section C & D based on the NAV of that day.

The IRA compliant subscribers (subscribers having IPIN to access CRA system) can check the value of investment from CRA website on a ongoing basis. Non IRA compliant subscribers can contact the PAO for the value details.

At what proportion Contribution amount is invested in the Pension Fund schemes?

At present, the contribution amount is invested in the proportion of 33%, 32% and 35% amongst SBI, UTI and LIC respectively.

Upto May 2009 the allocation was 55%, 40% and 5% for SBI, UTI and LIC respectively. Then, it has been changed to 40%, 31% and 29% on May 2009. In June 2010 it has changed to the present allocation ratio of 33%, 32% and 35%.

The contribution amount is allocated as per the Government guidelines. According to the Fund Manager performance (reviewed by MOF), the allocation ratio may change. These details are also mentioned at the bottom of the Transaction Statement.

Why the contribution details of Section C and D are not appearing in Transaction Statement?

Section C & D are for the contributions after March 31, 2010. Details are not appearing because there is no credit in your account for that particular period. The possible reasons can be – a) PAO has not uploaded the details or b) the SCF is not yet matched even though the PAO has uploaded the details. For more details, the subscriber may contact the concerned PAO for the same.

Why contributions for the period of April 2008 to September 2008 are not appearing in the Transaction Statement?

Please check section B as it might be possible that PAO has provided the consolidated details or the contribution for this period is either not uploaded by the PAO/CDDO. Alternatively, the details are sent to CRA and the credit in Subscribers' account is pending as either the same is under process or the details provided are not adequate enough for crediting subscribers' account. For more details, the subscriber may contact the concerned PAO for the same.

If PRAN is available, whether subscriber is required to fill S1 form?

PRAN application form (referred as Form S1) has to be filled by all Government Employees covered under NPS and get their details registered in CRA system.

Initially, CRA generated the PRANs based on the minimum electronic data i.e., PPAN, Name & Date of Birth. The remaining details were updated based on the Form S1 submitted by the Subscriber. For new subscribers, PRAN is generated on the basis of Form S1. The PRANs for which all the details are not updated in the CRA system, should fill and submit the Form S1 to become IRA compliant, as CRA is providing certain Value Added Services like online email alerts, SMS alerts, internet access, Telephonic access etc. only to the IRA compliant subscribers.

Form S1 is available in CRA website 'www.npscra.nsdl.co.in'. Subscriber can request the PAO/CDOO/DDO to download the form from CRA web site. For more details on PRAN allotment, refer FAQ section of this website.

What is the use of form G1 received along with Transaction Statement ?

The form G1 is for logging grievance about NPS. The grievance may be against the PAO or the DDO or the CRA. The duly filled form to be forwarded to CRA.

It may be noted that grievance can also be lodged after logging in to the CRA site (www.cra-nsdl.com) which is a much faster way of lodging a complaint and resolving the same.

Physical Transaction Statement is not similar to the statement appearing in CRA system. Why?

Physical Transaction Statement is as on August 12, 2010. The online view generates a statement which is updated as on previous day.