The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has introduced revised investment rules for the National Pension System (NPS) effective October 1, 2026. According to reports from The Economic Times, the most significant change involves a one-time onboarding charge of ₹200 per PRAN when investors join NPS through a Point of Presence (PoP). For fully digital, non-face-to-face onboarding processes, a lower charge of ₹100 may apply, depending on the applicable arrangement, with GST and other taxes additional. The new charge structures will be effective from January 1, 2026, as detailed in a master circular.
The bigger change for subscribers is the annual PoP charge fixed at 0.20% per year of assets under management (AUM). As reported by The Economic Times, an investor with ₹1 lakh in the account would pay around ₹200 annually before taxes, while a ₹5 lakh corpus would result in approximately ₹1,000 yearly. For larger accounts, an investor with ₹25 lakh could see an annual PoP charge of around ₹5,000, and a ₹50 lakh corpus would translate into roughly ₹10,000 annually. These calculations are before GST or any other applicable taxes.
According to PFRDA guidelines reported by The Economic Times, subscribers who were onboarded through e-NPS and continue making contributions through e-NPS or D-Remit will not have to pay PoP charges. However, if a person originally joined NPS through a PoP and later starts contributing through e-NPS or D-Remit, the PoP charges prescribed under the rules will still apply. The rules also prescribe a minimum contribution of ₹250 at onboarding and ₹10 for subsequent contributions, which is an investment into the NPS account and should not be confused with the onboarding or annual PoP charges.
As reported by The Economic Times, dormant accounts will not attract the annual charge. An account is treated as dormant when, after making a contribution in one quarter, no further contribution is made for four consecutive quarters, subject to the prescribed identification process across CRAs. This exemption should not be viewed as a reason to stop contributing merely to avoid charges, as NPS is designed to build a retirement corpus over a long period, and stopping investments can affect the amount available at retirement.
