NPS partial withdrawal rule tweaked from January 1; check how to apply for premature withdrawals

NPS withdrawals: The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has said that all central government employees will have to submit their withdrawal requests as applications for partial withdrawal through their associated nodal offices starting from January 1, 2023. This would include employees in central/state government and central/state autonomous bodies. Therefore, from now on, subscribers will have to submit supporting documents to nodal officers to substantiate the reasons for partial withdrawal. 

Before this, the PFRDA allowed subscribers to make partial withdrawals under NPS by self-declaration. The rule was introduced on January 14, 2021, amid the Covid pandemic.  

The PFRDA said: “With the abating of the pandemic-related difficulties and relaxation of lockdown restrictions, the issue examined after taking into consideration of the prevalent practices, circumstances, and law, it has been decided to make it mandatory for all the Government sector subscribers (Central/ State Govt & Central/State Autonomous Bodies) to submit their requests through their associated nodal offices." 

Existing conditions  

Earlier, PFRDA in a circular, issued on January 14, 2021, stated that partial withdrawals under NPS through self-declaration for the benefit of subscribers as a special dispensation to cope with the Covid pandemic in order to protect the subscribers' interest and ease the burden of nodal officers including POPs from verification and authorisation.  

The PFRDA through the issued circular provided the option of submission of the partial withdrawal requests by the subscribers through their nodal office/POPs as per the prevalent practice.  

Previously, the online requests of the subscribers were directly processed in CRA system post-Instant Bank Acct Verification through penny drop, without the need for authorisation by the associated nodal officers/POPs. It has benefited the subscribers during the Covid pandemic and immobility caused due to lockdowns in various parts of the country to contain the spread of corona. 

Who all can go for premature withdrawal 

The National Pension System allows subscribers to withdraw before maturity or prematurely only after the completion of three years. The withdrawal amount cannot exceed 25 per cent of the total contributions. 

Withdrawal is allowed only for specified reasons, like higher education of children, the marriage of children, the purchase/construction of a residential house (in specified conditions), and for treatment of critical illnesses. 

The subscribers can make partial withdrawals thrice during the entire tenure of subscription under NPS.  NPS is a government-controlled secure investment scheme. Depending on the amount invested, subscribers after the age of 60 receive a certain amount (40 per cent to 60 per cent of the total fund) in one go. The remaining amount can be drawn as a pension. The first minimum deposit is only Rs 500, thereafter subscribers can invest up to Rs 500 or above Rs 49,000 in subsequent months.