Scheme Preference is the Pension fund schemes option chosen by the subscriber for investing the pension contribution amount. In case of the Corporate, the corporate can either select the Scheme Preference or can give such option to its employees / subscribers.
The NPS offers two approaches to invest in your account
1.Active choice - There are Individual Funds (E, C and G Asset classes). In active choice, the Subscriber has to select a Pension Fund Manger and has to mention the ratio of funds to be invested among E, C & G.
2.Auto choice - There is a Lifecycle Fund and the subscriber has to select a Pension Fund Manager and his / her funds will be invested as per the Life cycle fund matrix on the basis of the age of the subscriber.
For both Tier I and Tier II, the subscriber has been given the flexibility to choose any one out of available Pension Fund Managers(PFMs) and also decide the percentage in which the selected PFM will invest the funds.
If a subscriber chooses Active Choice, he can specify the percentage in which his / her money is to be invested in these asset classes. However, allocation in Equity cannot be more than 50%.
If a subscriber opts for Auto Choice, system will automatically calculate the asset allocation percentages based on the subscriber's age.
The sets of assets considered for investment of NPS funds are segregated based on their risk{return characteristics)
Asset Class E - Investments in predominantly equity market instruments. Maximum investment in this class is 50% of total contribution.
Asset Class C- investments in fixed income instruments other than Government securities.
Asset Class G - investments in Government securities.
Under this type of investment choice, the Subscriber has an option to choose a fund manager and provide the ratio in which his / her funds to be invested among the asset classes.
NPS offers an easy option for those participants who do not have the required knowledge to manage their NPS investments. In case subscribers are unable/unwilling to exercise any choice as regards asset allocation, their funds will be invested in accordance with the Auto Choice option. Under this type of investment choice, the investments will be made in a life-cycle fund. Here, the fraction of funds invested across three asset classes will be determined by a pre-defined portfolio. At the lowest age of entry (18 years), the auto choice will entail investment of 50% of pension wealth in E Class, 30% in C Class and 20% in G Class. These ratios of investment will remain fixed for all contributions until the participant reaches the age of 36. From age 36 onwards, the weight in E and C asset class will decrease annually and the weight in G class will increase annually till it reaches 10% in E, 10% in C and 80% in G class at age 55.
As mentioned in the offer document of PFRDA, in case of subscribers who have opted 'Auto choice' investment option, the percentage of investment in the asset classes E/C/G will change as per the age of the subscriber as given in the 'Life cycle Investment Matrix'. The change happens on the date of birth of the subscriber. In this process, asset allocation ratio is changed and the existing assets are redeemed and reinvested as per the new ratio of allocation.
In Auto Choice, the proportion of E, C and G is determined by the subscriber's age. At each birthdate of the subscriber, these proportions are adjusted with age as mentioned in the life-cycle matrix.
The total contribution remitted in subscriber's Tier I account and Tier II is passed on to the PFMs as selected by the subscriber at the time of registration (or changed subsequently). The PFMs invest the money in one or more asset class viz. Equity, Corporate Debt and Government Bonds in the ratio selected by the subscriber and declare Net Asset Value(NAV) at the end of each business day. Accordingly, based on the NAV, units are credited in the subscriber's account. The present value of the investment is arrived by the units held multiplied by the NAV.
The return under NPS is market driven. Hence, there is no guaranteed/defined amount of return. The returns generated through investments are accumulated and is not distributed as dividend or bonus.
Also known as NAV, this is the price of one unit of a fund. NAV is calculated at the end of every working day between Monday and Friday. It is calculated by adding up the value of all the securities and cash in the fund's portfolio (its assets), subtracting the fund's liabilities, and dividing that number by the number of units that the fund has issued. The NAV increases (or decreases) when the value of the fund's holdings increase (or decrease). NAV of different PFMs may differ. Even the different schemes under the same PFM will have different NAV
The subscriber has to submit the physical application form (Form-UOS-S3/CS-S3) to change Scheme Preference. A subscriber under the Corporate model can exercise this option only if the option has been provided to the subscriber by the Corporate. But such changes can be done only once in a financial year. In case the Subscriber wants to change Scheme Preference for both the Tiers then the Subscriber should submit separate forms for each Tier. the subscriber can submit the request to his / her POP/POP-SP through whom the subscriber has opened the NPS account. Please collect a 17 digit acknowledgement number against your request.
In case of a Corporate (who has opted the Scheme Preference) can change the Scheme Preference for Tier I only by submitting a “CHO-2 Form (Application Form for Corporate Scheme Preference Change ) to CRA through the POP. Also if the Corporate desires to give the option of Scheme Preference to the subscribers / employees subsequently to opt for the PFMs, the same can also be done by submitting a “CHO-2 Form” (Application Form for Corporate Scheme Preference Change ). The CHO-2 Form can be downloaded from our website https://www.npscra.nsdl.co.in/organised-sector-forms.php. The transaction is chargeable.
A Subscriber / Corporate can request for a change of scheme preference once in a financial year for each of Tier I and Tier II account.
A subscriber can either check with his / her POP-SP or can call at CRA's toll free number 1800 222 080 for the status of pending request. The 17 digit acknowledgement number received from POP-SP against subscriber's request to be used.
CRA system will send an E-Mail to the Subscriber's registered E-Mail ID with the CRA system once the request is processed.
Yes, there is a default PFM provision under NPS and SBI Pension Funds Private Limited acts as the default Pension Fund Manager.
