The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), through Circular No. PFRDA/2026/17/REG-POP/02 dated 10 March 2026, revised the charge structure applicable to Points of Presence (PoPs) for Common Schemes under the National Pension System (NPS) for Legal Entities other than Government. Under Regulation 16 of the PFRDA (Point of Presence) Regulations, 2018, the Authority determines the limits and manner in which PoPs may collect charges from subscribers. The circular reclassifies existing “Corporates” under NPS into two categories: Government Entities and Legal Entities (other than Government). Government Entities include statutory bodies, government companies, and entities owned or controlled by Central or State Governments, including CPSEs and SPSEs. Legal Entities (other than Government) include societies, associations of persons, and other entities not under government administrative control. From 1 January 2026, PoPs may charge 0.20% per annum of the Assets Under Management (AUM), adjusted through NAV and payable quarterly, excluding dormant accounts. Applicable taxes such as GST will be additional.
Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority
Circular No.: PFRDA/2026/17/REG-POP/02 | Dated: Date: 10 March 2026
To
All Points of Presence (PoPs), Central Record Keeping Agencies (CRA/s), Legal Entities (other than Government) and other Stakeholders under NPS.
Subject: Charge structure of Point of Presence (PoP) for Common Schemes under NPS for Legal Entities (other than Government)
Regulation 16 of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Point of Presence) Regulations, 2018 (hereinafter referred to as “POP Regulations”) states that “the charges that may be collected by the point of presence from the subscriber shall be subject to the limit, mode and manner of collection, as permitted by the Authority”.
2. It has been decided that henceforth, the existing “Corporates” under NPS will be reclassified into: (i) Government Entities, and (ii) Legal Entities (other than Government).
i. “Government Entities” shall include statutory body or a Government Company or any body corporate or other entity under the ownership and control of either Central or any State Government (including Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and State Public Sector Enterprises (SPSEs)).
ii. “Legal Entities (other than Government)”, including societies, association of persons and entities which are not under the administrative control of either Central or any State Government.
3. In accordance with the PoP Regulations, the applicable charges for PoPs for Common Schemes under NPS for Legal Entities (other than Government) are hereby revised as under:
| Charge structure applicable from 01.01.2026 for Common Schemes under NPS for Legal Entities (other than Government) | ||
| Sr. No. | Particulars | Charges |
| i. | Annual Charges for the employees/ members under Legal Entities (other than Government)” | 0.20% p.a. of the AUM to be adjusted through NAV and payable to PoP on quarterly basis, in accounts other than Dormant accounts. This shall be applicable to all existing NPS accounts as well. |
Notes:
a. GST or other taxes as applicable, shall be additional.
b. PoPs having their own employees as NPS subscriber may exercise their choice to recover or not to recover PoP charges as per their internal approved policy and shall share such information with CRAs.
c. Dormant Account will not be charged. Dormant account is defined as such account where subsequent to a contribution in a quarter, there is no contribution for four consecutive quarters as identified at the end of each quarter.
3. Accordingly, PoPs who have already informed CRA/s about their choices regarding recovery of PoP charges from their own employees, such charges shall be recovered as per the information available with respective CRA/s. In cases, where a PoP has not yet exercised such choices, it may do so by informing the respective CRA/s on or before 27th March 2026.
4. This circular herewith supersedes the circular on “Service Charges that can be collected by POPs under NPS and NPS-Lite” vide circular no. PFRDA/Master Circular/2024/05/PoP- 03 dated 31st January 2025 and PFRDA/2025/24/REG-POP/05 dated 31.12.2025.
5. This Circular is issued in exercise of powers conferred under sub-section (1) of Section 14 read with clause (e) of sub-section (2) of Section 14 of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 2013.
Yours Sincerely,
Ashish Kumar
Chief General Manager
Regulation Contribution Management Department
