The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has issued fresh guidelines for the Price Discovery Process and revised charges levied by Central Recordkeeping Agencies (CRAs) for services rendered to subscribers under various pension schemes.
The circular, dated 15th September 2025, comes into effect from 1st October 2025, and is applicable across government, private, and unorganized sectors under the National Pension System (NPS), Atal Pension Yojana (APY), NPS Lite, and NPS Vatsalya.
🔍 What Is Price Discovery in This Context?
Under Regulation 22 of the CRA Regulations (2015), CRAs are permitted to levy service charges for maintaining subscriber accounts. However, the rates must be finalized through a price discovery process initiated by PFRDA every five years. This circular outlines the revised price structure for the next cycle.
📊 Revised Charge Structures
🔷 1. Government Sector (NPS & UPS):
| Charge Head | Charges (₹) |
| PRAN Opening (e-PRAN kit) | ₹ 18 |
| PRAN Opening (Physical card) | ₹ 40 |
| Annual Maintenance Charge | ₹100 (₹0 if Nil balance) |
| Transaction Charge | ₹ 0 |
📝 Note: e-PRAN kit will be the default. These charges apply only during the accumulation phase. Charges during the payout phase to be notified later.
🔷 2. APY & NPS Lite:
| Charge Head | Charges (₹) |
| PRAN Opening Charge | ₹ 15 |
| Annual Maintenance Charge | ₹ 15 |
| Transaction Charge | ₹ 0 |
🔷 3. Private Sector (NPS & NPS Vatsalya):
| Tier I Corpus Slab (₹) | Annual Maintenance Charge (₹) |
| Nil | ₹ 0 |
| ₹1 – ₹2,00,000 | ₹ 100 |
| ₹2,00,001 – ₹10,00,000 | ₹ 150 |
| ₹10,00,001 – ₹25,00,000 | ₹ 300 |
| ₹25,00,001 – ₹50,00,000 | ₹ 400 |
| Above ₹50,00,000 | ₹ 500 |
Other Charges:
| Charge Head | Charges (₹) |
| PRAN Opening (e-PRAN Kit) | ₹ 18 |
| PRAN Opening (Physical card) | ₹ 40 |
| Transaction Charge | ₹ 0 |
📝 Note: Lower slab rates cannot be applied to higher slabs, ensuring fair pricing across corpus ranges.
📌 Additional Guidelines:
- CRAs must not charge beyond the upper caps set in the tables.
- They may offer discounted or negotiated charges with employers or Points of Presence (PoPs), provided they don’t go below the lower slab’s cap.
- New services offered by CRAs may only include actual costs, subject to PFRDA approval.
- CRAs must clearly display the charge structure on their websites and mobile apps.
- These new guidelines supersede the earlier circular (dated 15 June 2020).
✅ Effective Date:
1st October 2025
🔎 Why It Matters
This revision aims to enhance transparency and affordability for subscribers, ensuring they are not overcharged while also maintaining sustainable operations for CRAs. It further aligns with PFRDA’s broader mission to strengthen pension infrastructure and subscriber trust.
Whether you’re a government employee, a private sector worker, or self-employed under APY/NPS Lite, it’s essential to understand how these charges may impact your account and returns over time.