Pension Rule Change– Big news for pensioners. If you’re a member of the National Pension System (NPS), Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), Atal Pension Yojana (APY), or NPS Lite, new rules are about to change. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has revised the fees charged by Central Recordkeeping Agencies (CRAs).
This new fee structure will come into effect on October 1, 2025, replacing the fee structure implemented in June 2020. This change will affect millions of pensioners. Let’s find out how much you might have to pay now.
Charges on NPS and UPS
Government employees will now have to pay Rs 18 for the e-PRAN kit and Rs 40 for the physical PRAN card when opening a new PRAN. The annual maintenance charge will be Rs 100 per account. Accounts with zero balance will not be charged. Government employees will have to pay Rs 15 for opening a PRAN and Rs 15 for annual maintenance. Transaction charges will be zero.
APY-NPS-Lite accounts
The fee structure for Atal Pension Yojana (APY) subscribers and NPS-Lite has also been simplified. The PRAN opening charge and annual maintenance charge for these accounts will now be Rs 15 each, while the transaction charge will be Rs 0. The objective of these lower pension charges is to increase the number of people enrolled in pension schemes.
Vatsalya schemes has also changed. Opening a PRAN for these accounts will incur a charge of Rs 18 for the e-PRAN kit and Rs 40 for the physical PRAN card. The transaction charge will also be 0. However, the annual maintenance charge is determined based on the customer’s Tier 1 account balance.
Nil for balance up to Rs 1 lakh
Rs 100 for balance between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh
Rs 150 for balance between Rs 2,00,001 and Rs 10 lakh
Rs 300 for balance between Rs 10,00,001 and Rs 25 lakh
Rs 400 for balance between Rs 25,00,001 and Rs 50 lakh
Rs 500 for balance above Rs 50 lakh
The PFRDA stated that these rates are upper limits, meaning credit rating agencies (CRAs) cannot charge more than this. However, credit rating agencies are permitted to charge lower or negotiated fees, provided they are not lower than the upper limit of the immediately preceding slab.
