The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has taken a new initiative to increase the pension coverage in India by increasing the incentives payable to Points of Presence (POPs), the principal distributive points for NPS. As per a press release issued by the Ministry of Finance, a new incentive towards increasing persistency has been introduced under which POPs will receive an incentive of Rs 50 per account per annum for every account which continues to contribute a minimum of Rs 1000 in a financial year. PFRDA believes that the renewed incentive will help in increasing the reach of pensions in India, through the efforts of Points of Presence.
The following Table gives the details of increase in incentives:
| Principal Distribution Point | Services offered | Current Charge | New Charge |
| POP
| Initial Subscriber Registration* | Rs. 125/- | Rs. 200/- |
| Initial Contribution | 0.25% of the contribution Min: Rs. 20/- & Max : Rs.25,000/- | 0.25% of the contribution Min: Rs. 20/- & Max : Rs.25,000/- | |
| All Subsequent Contribution | |||
| All Non-Financial Transaction | Rs. 20/- | Rs. 20/- | |
| Persistency* | —– | Rs. 50/- per annum (only for NPS-All Citizen) | |
| e-NPS* (for subsequent contributions) | 0.05% of the contribution Min Rs 5/- & Max Rs 5000/- (Only for NPS- All Citizen and Tier-II Accounts) | 0.10% of the contribution Min Rs 10/- & Max Rs 10000/- (Only for NPS- All Citizen and Tier-II Accounts) |
*Changes effected
It may be noted that PFRDA has taken several initiatives in the past few years to increase pension coverage in the country, notably, reducing minimum contribution levels, apart from introducing e-NPS, new investment instruments and aggressive life cycle funds etc.