National Pension System (NPS)

Dual benefit of Low Cost and Power of compounding – The account maintenance costs under NPS are the lowest as compared to similar pension products available in India, like retirement plans offered by Insurance companies and mutual funds. While saving for a long-term goal such as retirement, the cost matters a lot. Over 35-40 years, the charges can shave off a significant amount from the corpus.

Till the retirement pension wealth accumulation grows over a period of time with a compounding effect.The account maintenance charges being low, the benefit of accumulated pension wealth to the subscriber eventually become large.

A flexible investment option: Subscribers have control on the choice of investment made and the fund manager who manages the investments. Subscribers can switch over from one investment option to another or from one fund manager to another subject, of course, to certain regulatory restrictions.

Tax benefits: The first benefit of the NPS consists of the income tax deduction that is available to the individuals when they make their own contribution to the fund. There is an overall limit of Rs 1 lakh for contributions under eligible investments for Section 80C, pension fund contributions (Section 80CCC) and contribution to NPS (Section 80CCD). Apart from this, if there are co-contributions from the employer, then

• Employer contributing to the NPS on behalf of an employee will get deduction from his income (i.e. employer's income) an amount equivalent to the amount contributed or 10% of BASIC SALARY + DA of the employee, whichever is less. (Section 36 (1) (iv a) of the Income Tax Act 1961)
• Employer's contribution to NPS on behalf of the employee is treated as perquisite in the hands of the employees, but is deductible u/s80CCD(2) of the Income tax Act,1961 to the extent of 10% of basic salary. This deduction is over and above the limit of Rs.1 lac u/s 80C of the Income tax Act,1961. This will lessen the tax burden of the employee to the extent of amount deductible u/s80CCD(2) of the Income tax Act,1961

A safe retirement fund : Introduced by the Government of India and regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA).