Pension regulator PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority) is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of Point-of-Presence (PoP) revenue structures and new rates are expected to be available in a month, its Chairman, Supratim Bandyopadhyay, said on Friday.
“We have formed a committee for this purpose. The report is expected in a month,” Bandyopadhyay told a press conference on the occasion of ‘NPS Diwas’.
From this year, October 1 will be celebrated as ‘NPS Diwas’ every year, he added.
Also see: Fund Query: Should investors over 60 go for the NPS?
PoPs are the first points of interaction of the National Pension System (NPS) subscriber with the architecture. These entities provide services related to NPS to contributors. Such entities include banks, non-banks and various fintech companies.
The proposed move to revise PoP compensation structure is expected to motivate them to sell more NPS to citizens across the country. It will come at a time when several PoPs have conveyed to PFRDA that the individual agents or business correspondents (in the case of banks) appointed by them will also start distributing NPS as a product.
Individual distributors
PFRDA has already, in June this year, made changes in regulations to allow even individuals to work as distributors of pension products. This has paved the way for those working as insurance agents or mutual fund distributors to also distribute NPS.
Earlier, only institutions were given the licences for distribution, and the regulator had allowed entities such as banks, NBFCs and certain non-bank entities categorised as PoP to work as distributors.
Strong growth
Meanwhile, Bandyopadhyay also said that the number of new NPS subscribers onboarded in the first half of this fiscal grew 60 per cent at about 3.25 lakhs against 2.1 lakh recorded in the same period last year. As of September 25, the total assets under management (AUM) of NPS stood at about ₹6.67 lakh crore, he said, adding that PFRDA was well on course of meeting the aspiration of ₹7.5 lakh crore AUM by the end of March 2022.
Also see: Custodians for NPS: PFRDA sets minimum ₹1-lakh crore assets under custody for eligibility
Bandyopadhyay also highlighted that the equity funds of NPS have recorded 13 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) on a 12-year track record.
“Active fund management has been a huge positive for us. It was our decision to allow active fund management that has helped us achieve this. This would not have been possible in passive fund management,” he said.