On 29 April 2026, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) issued a circular to all Central Recordkeeping Agencies (CRAs) and other stakeholders. The circular issued a clarification on the charge structure of CRAs under the pension schemes regulated or administered by the PFRDA. In this article, we will understand the charge structure of CRAs.
AMC under NPS
The PFRDA has clarified that the annual maintenance charge (AMC) for an NPS Tier-II account shall be aligned with the AMC applicable to an NPS Tier-I account under the respective sector (government or private sector). The exception is that no AMC shall be levied on an Tier-II account with a corpus up to ₹1,000. The corpus at the end of the quarter will be considered to determine whether to levy or exempt the AMC.
Earlier, in a circular issued on 15 September 2025, the PFRDA had specified the AMC charges as follows.
| Sector | AMC | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| AMC per account for Government sector (NPS & UPS) | Rs. 100 | ||
| AMC for APY and NPS Lite | Rs. 15 | ||
| AMC per account for Private sector (NPS & NPS Vatsalya) | Corpus Rs. 1 to Rs. 2,00,000: Rs. 100 Corpus Rs. 2,00,001 to Rs. 10,00,000: Rs. 150 Corpus Rs. 10,00,001 to Rs. 25,00,000: Rs. 300 Corpus Rs. 25,00,001 to Rs. 50,00,000: Rs. 400 Corpus above Rs. 50,000: Rs. 500 |
The above-specified amounts are the upper caps for each sector. No CRA shall charge more than the amount mentioned above. For APY and NPS-Lite accounts with a nil balance, the AMC shall be nil.
The has further clarified that each pension scheme maintained within a PRAN shall be treated as a separate account. It applies to both Tier I and Tier II accounts. Each such account shall attract AMC separately, as applicable.
AMC for dormant accounts
If an account has become dormant, the CRA will levy 10% of the applicable AMC on such a Tier I/Tier II account.
As per the PFRDA specifications, a ‘dormant account’ shall mean an account where no contribution is received for four consecutive quarters. The CRA will flag such an account as ‘dormant’ during the first week of the subsequent quarter in the CRA system.
The reduced AMC of 10% of the applicable amount shall apply for such subsequent quarter. The reduced AMC shall continue till the time the account remains dormant. When an NPS member makes a contribution to a dormant account during a quarter, the account shall be flagged as ‘active’ in the first week of the subsequent quarter.
CRAs must ensure that flagging of dormant/active accounts, based on the above criteria, is made effective from 1 July 2026. For determining the applicable AMC, the corpus available in the account as at the end of the quarter shall be considered.
PRAN opening charges
The PFRDA has clarified that the PRAN (Permanent Retirement Account Number) Opening Charge shall apply only at the time of initial PRAN generation. For activation / opening of each account (Tier I / Tier II) within an existing PRAN, the charge shall be nil.
Earlier, in a circular issued on 15 September 2025, the had specified the PRAN opening charges as follows.
| Sector | PRAN opening charges | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Government sector (NPS & UPS) | e-PRAN Kit: Rs. 18, Physical PRAN Card: Rs. 40 | ||
| APY and NPS Lite | Rs. 15 | ||
| Private sector (NPS & NPS Vatsalya) | e-PRAN Kit: Rs. 18, Physical PRAN Card: Rs. 40 |
Collection of CRA charges
The CRA shall collect the applicable charges at the end of each quarter. The accounts where the employer bears the CRA charges, the CRA must raise the invoice on the concerned entity. In case of other accounts, the CRA shall deduct the units equivalent to the chargeable amount from the subscriber’s account. The CRAs must display the charge structure on their official website and mobile application.
What do the two circulars mean for subscribers?
In its 15 September 2025 circular, the PFRDA provided guidelines on price discovery for CRA charges for the services rendered to the subscribers. However, some queries were raised, for which the PFRDA has provided clarifications in its second circular dated 29 April 2026. The clarification brings the AMC charges for Tier I and Tier II accounts at par. The PFRDA has provided some relief for dormant accounts, low-balance accounts, and NPS-Lite and APY accounts.
For subscribers, there will be a marginal impact with Tier II accounts attracting AMC similar to Tier I accounts. Also, CRAs will start flagging accounts as dormant if there are no contributions for a specified period.
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