The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has stated that it is developing a technology-based system that would allow informal employees who are enrolled in the e-Shram database to create pension accounts from the comfort of their homes using their mobile phones.
PFRDA’s initiative aims to expand pension coverage among the large informal workforce by enabling a quick and seamless enrolment process through the eShram portal, developed by the Ministry of Labour and Employment to create a National Database of Unorganised Workers (NDUW).
“We are, therefore, looking at how people, who are already registered on the database, can be enabled to open pension accounts through a simple, few-click process on their mobile phones. Once the account is opened, they can use UPI to make contributions to it,” PFRDA chairperson Sivasubramanian Ramann said, according to PTI.
The service is also expected to be available in multiple Indian languages, making pension products easier to understand and access through a simplified digital onboarding process.
The proposed initiative by PFRDA could benefit the informal workforce in a number of ways, including easier pension enrolment through mobile devices without the need to visit a physical office or intermediary, greater accessibility to pension accounts for unorganised and informal workers, and faster pension account creation, which will be convenient for workers with irregular employment and no employer-linked retirement benefits.
The proposed initiative’s main advantage is raising unorganised workers’ awareness of retirement planning, which strengthens their long-term retirement security through regular contributions to a pension plan.
PFRDA working on guaranteed-return pension product
According to Ramann, PFRDA is also developing a guaranteed-return pension plan for private sector subscribers.
“We have to work on a guaranteed-return scheme because there is a mandate under our Act,” Ramann stated, says PTI.
A guaranteed-return pension product could help non-government sector subscribers in a number of ways if it is put into place.
For example, it could give them more certainty when it comes to retirement planning, which would make long-term financial planning easier. It could also lessen their reliance on market-linked pension investments, boost the possibility of more non-government sector subscribers participating in guaranteed pension products, and be helpful to conservative investors who are reluctant to invest in market-linked retirement plans.
The proposed product would provide wider coverage beyond government employees because it is meant for the non-government sector. However, how PFRDA constructs the product, including tenure, contribution limits, charges, withdrawal/exit rules, pension benefits, and much more, will determine the actual advantages of the proposed product.
Unlike the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) for government employees, which provides an assured pension worth 50% of their average basic salary from the last 12 months before retirement, the key question, until the guaranteed pension product for non-government employees is formally introduced, is figuring out who would offer the guarantee for a pension product for them.
NPS Swasthya: PFRDA set to launch new pension product soon
Ramann also stated that PFRDA is getting ready to introduce NPS Swasthya, with final regulations anticipated in the coming days and the product probably going to be released soon after, according to a PTI report. The top-up insurance might be eight to ten times the initial investment, according to Ramann.
NPS Swasthya combines long-term retirement planning with healthcare flexibility by providing subscribers with access to liquidity for medical needs at any Point of Contact (PoC) in addition to enabling them to build a safe retirement corpus with market-based returns.
Under the Regulatory Sandbox Framework, PFRDA introduced the NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme in January 2026 as a Proof of Concept. Within the Multiple Scheme Framework (MSF), the NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme will be implemented as a particular sector scheme within the NPS with the sole purpose of offering financial assistance for both inpatient and outpatient medical expenses.
The NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme will be launched by Pension Funds (PFs), subject to prior approval from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). According to the regulatory, the scheme shall initially be introduced by PFs as a Proof of Concept in collaboration with the Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA) and Health Benefit Administrator (HBA) / Third Party Administrator (TPA), for a limited duration and with a restricted number of subscriber registrations.
Under the NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme, the minimum initial contribution for onboarding shall be Rs. 25,000 and a subscriber shall become eligible to avail benefits under NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme upon such contribution.
For inpatient medical treatment, if the expenses incurred in a single instance exceed the subscriber’s eligible limit for partial withdrawal, the subscriber may opt for a premature exit and withdraw 100% of the corpus as a lump sum, irrespective of the corpus size, solely to meet the medical expenses, according to PFRDA.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should review the final terms and conditions issued by PFRDA before investing.
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