Remove the newly introduced annual POP charges of 0.2% on corpus in NPS accounts
The Issue
Like many other Indians, I have entrusted my future financial security to the National Pension System (NPS), a retirement savings scheme that promises to build our wealth over time. However, a recent circular (PFRDA/2026/17/REG-POP/02 dated March 10, 2026) from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has introduced an annual drain of 0.2% from the corpus we have worked so hard to accumulate under this scheme. This is in addition to the already existing transaction based charges by POPs. This mandate, which pertains to the charge structure of Point of Presence (POPs) for common schemes under the NPS, puts at risk the financial stability of over 2 crore NPS subscribers, siphoning off their hard-earned money every year without offering any added value in return.
Our banks, motivated by profit and lobbying aggressively with the PFRDA, appear to prioritize their interests over those of the millions relying on the NPS for their retirement. They impose these charges without providing equivalent services to NPS account holders or having accountability. What's more alarming is that the PFRDA restricts us from moving our regular NPS accounts out of these POPs, effectively trapping us into paying these unnecessary charges annually. This is a huge injustice done by PFRDA to our youth and retirees alike.
The annual charge imposed by the PFRDA's circular not only eats into our future savings but also undermines the foundational purpose of the NPS—to allow Indians to build a secure financial future. A reduction of 0.2% each year might seem insignificant at first glance, but over the years, this leads to a substantial erosion of our corpus. For a nation that's striving for financial independence for its people, this charge is a step backwards.
It should be noted here that these POPs (mostly banks) who have lobbied for 0.2% pa from our retirement savings are not even the entities responsible for managing our NPS funds. POPs are just intermediaries who provided interface to open NPS accounts!! They already collect transaction charges for every investment that we make into NPS accounts. Now they get 0.2% of the entire accumulated wealth in those accounts!
Please note that this 0.2% pa transfer to POPs from our retirement savings is applicable only for private company employees, as the recent “clarification” from PFRDA excludes all government employee accounts from these unjust charges. As private company employees we work hard, we work long hours, we strive to build the economy, we pay our taxes, we pay transaction charges on NPS investments and we pay fund manager fees on NPS. In addition now these intermediaries wants to salami slice our retirement savings and PFRDA is facilitating it. This is not only unjust, but it is also highly discriminatory in nature.
What is worse is that this charge of 0.2% on the entire corpus every year is applicable also to existing accounts which were opened as far back as 2009, when GOI opened up and promoted NPS for all citizens. These banks at that time till recently kept saying that there is only one time charge for opening NPS account through them. The accounts thus opened have accumulated significant life savings of those people, who believed the promotion messages by intermediaries and the NPS trust itself. Now these intermediaries wants a share of nearly two decades of the previous investments also in those accounts. So these banks are going to get 0.2% on this entire accumulated corpus every year for doing nothing, and PFRDA is facilitating it. PFRDA could have excluded existing accounts from these charges or allowed them to move to eNPS where there are no such annual charges. Instead PFRDA has trapped us into this charge, without even taking public opinion or informing the subscribers ahead of time. Hence there are many questions of ethics and legality in all of this.
This must change! POPs have no business charging any amount annually or otherwise on our entire NPS corpus. This policy by PFRDA should be revisited and these fees rolled back entirely. We demand a mechanism to electively move our accounts beyond the reach of unjustified annual POP charges. It's time for the PFRDA to recognize the unjust nature of these annual charges and to protect the savings of India’s working population. Therefore, we call upon the PFRDA to take immediate action to reverse this circular and rollback the burdensome fee structure to safeguard the financial future of millions of NPS subscribers.
Join me in urging the PFRDA to remove this unwarranted drain on our retirement fund. Please sign this petition and please forward this to as many social groups as possible to help prevent our wealth from being unfairly stripped away.
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The Issue
Like many other Indians, I have entrusted my future financial security to the National Pension System (NPS), a retirement savings scheme that promises to build our wealth over time. However, a recent circular (PFRDA/2026/17/REG-POP/02 dated March 10, 2026) from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has introduced an annual drain of 0.2% from the corpus we have worked so hard to accumulate under this scheme. This is in addition to the already existing transaction based charges by POPs. This mandate, which pertains to the charge structure of Point of Presence (POPs) for common schemes under the NPS, puts at risk the financial stability of over 2 crore NPS subscribers, siphoning off their hard-earned money every year without offering any added value in return.
Our banks, motivated by profit and lobbying aggressively with the PFRDA, appear to prioritize their interests over those of the millions relying on the NPS for their retirement. They impose these charges without providing equivalent services to NPS account holders or having accountability. What's more alarming is that the PFRDA restricts us from moving our regular NPS accounts out of these POPs, effectively trapping us into paying these unnecessary charges annually. This is a huge injustice done by PFRDA to our youth and retirees alike.
The annual charge imposed by the PFRDA's circular not only eats into our future savings but also undermines the foundational purpose of the NPS—to allow Indians to build a secure financial future. A reduction of 0.2% each year might seem insignificant at first glance, but over the years, this leads to a substantial erosion of our corpus. For a nation that's striving for financial independence for its people, this charge is a step backwards.
It should be noted here that these POPs (mostly banks) who have lobbied for 0.2% pa from our retirement savings are not even the entities responsible for managing our NPS funds. POPs are just intermediaries who provided interface to open NPS accounts!! They already collect transaction charges for every investment that we make into NPS accounts. Now they get 0.2% of the entire accumulated wealth in those accounts!
Please note that this 0.2% pa transfer to POPs from our retirement savings is applicable only for private company employees, as the recent “clarification” from PFRDA excludes all government employee accounts from these unjust charges. As private company employees we work hard, we work long hours, we strive to build the economy, we pay our taxes, we pay transaction charges on NPS investments and we pay fund manager fees on NPS. In addition now these intermediaries wants to salami slice our retirement savings and PFRDA is facilitating it. This is not only unjust, but it is also highly discriminatory in nature.
What is worse is that this charge of 0.2% on the entire corpus every year is applicable also to existing accounts which were opened as far back as 2009, when GOI opened up and promoted NPS for all citizens. These banks at that time till recently kept saying that there is only one time charge for opening NPS account through them. The accounts thus opened have accumulated significant life savings of those people, who believed the promotion messages by intermediaries and the NPS trust itself. Now these intermediaries wants a share of nearly two decades of the previous investments also in those accounts. So these banks are going to get 0.2% on this entire accumulated corpus every year for doing nothing, and PFRDA is facilitating it. PFRDA could have excluded existing accounts from these charges or allowed them to move to eNPS where there are no such annual charges. Instead PFRDA has trapped us into this charge, without even taking public opinion or informing the subscribers ahead of time. Hence there are many questions of ethics and legality in all of this.
This must change! POPs have no business charging any amount annually or otherwise on our entire NPS corpus. This policy by PFRDA should be revisited and these fees rolled back entirely. We demand a mechanism to electively move our accounts beyond the reach of unjustified annual POP charges. It's time for the PFRDA to recognize the unjust nature of these annual charges and to protect the savings of India’s working population. Therefore, we call upon the PFRDA to take immediate action to reverse this circular and rollback the burdensome fee structure to safeguard the financial future of millions of NPS subscribers.
Join me in urging the PFRDA to remove this unwarranted drain on our retirement fund. Please sign this petition and please forward this to as many social groups as possible to help prevent our wealth from being unfairly stripped away.
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Petition created on 26 June 2026