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New National Pension System rules will allow retirees to receive periodic payouts until age 85, keeping their remaining corpus invested for growth without affecting mandatory annuity requirements.
According to a circular issued by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority on 15 May, subscribers who opt for the facility will be allowed to receive payouts on a periodic basis — monthly, quarterly or annually — for up to 85 years of age, or as per the choice exercised by the subscriber when exiting NPS.India’s pension regulator has introduced retirement income schemes (RIS) and drawdown options under the National Pension System (NPS), allowing subscribers to choose phased withdrawals from their pension corpus after retirement while remaining invested in the scheme.
The regulator said the move aims to provide subscribers “more flexible periodic payout options during their decumulation phase while continuing to support corpus appreciation through the retirement income schemes”.
According to a circular issued by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority on 15 May, subscribers who opt for the facility will be allowed to receive payouts on a periodic basis — monthly, quarterly or annually — for up to 85 years of age, or as per the choice exercised by the subscriber when exiting NPS.
Under the RIS framework, subscribers will have the flexibility to choose phased withdrawals of their designated pension corpus through any drawdown option.
“Consequently, these withdrawals shall have no impact on the mandatory annuitisation requirement of 20% or 40% of the corpus, as the case may be, thus ensuring that the minimum statutory requirement for a life-long pension remains intact,” the circular read.
The drawdown options will be available to both government and non-government subscribers under NPS.
PFRDA said the effective date for these guidelines will be announced once the necessary technical systems and operational frameworks are in place. The regulator noted that these guidelines were issued under the authority granted by Section 14 of the PFRDA Act, 2013. It said the initiative has been introduced in line with the PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals under the NPS) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025.
According to latest PFRDA data, the NPS had more than 21.7 million subscribers and more than ₹16 trillion in assets under management as of March 2026.
NPS Swasthya for healthcare expenses
On 10 April, Mint reported that PFRDA now allows subscribers under ‘NPS Swasthya’, a multi-partner initiative that integrates retirement savings with healthcare accessibility, to get coverage for in-patient services and hospitalisation bills.
Powered by Medi Assist’s ‘Maven’ infrastructure, the initiative enables eligible NPS subscribers to access a portion of their retirement corpus for hospitalisation expenses, while continuing to benefit from long-term market-linked growth.
About the Author
Harsh Kumar
Harsh Kumar is a policy reporter at Mint (HT Media Group), where he covers the Ministry of Commerce and Industry along with key departments of the Ministry of Finance, including the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) and the Department of Financial Services (DFS). With over five years of experience in business and economic journalism, he has developed strong expertise in tracking policy developments and their wider economic impact.<br><br>He has previously worked with Business Standard, Moneycontrol, and Outlook Money, where he reported extensively on banking, financial services, and the broader economy. Over the years, he has built a reputation for delivering accurate, insightful, and impactful stories, supported by a keen eye for detail and a consistent track record of breaking exclusive news.<br><br>An alumnus of Jamia Millia Islamia, Harsh closely follows regulatory changes and key economic trends shaping India’s financial and industrial landscape. His reporting aims to simplify complex policy issues for a wider audience while maintaining depth and credibility.<br><br>Outside of work, he enjoys tracking policy developments, finding scoops, and travelling, reflecting his curiosity about how economic decisions shape everyday life.
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