Are you married, single, divorced or separated?
Do you prefer secure instruments such as public provident fund (PPF) and fixed deposits or are you investing through market-linked instruments such as equity-linked saving schemes (ELSS mutual funds) and National Pension System (NPS)?
These are the details the Pension Funds Regulatory and Development Authority of India (PFRDA) wants to collect from the subscribers of NPS under the voluntary all-citizens model. It is conducting a survey to understand NPS subscribers’ personal profile, investment objectives and risk appetite among other things.
Also read: Economic Survey 2023: NPS assets now 3.2% of India’s GDP
NPS investments and tax deductions
“Dear Subscriber, NPS’ All citizen model was introduced in the year 2009 with the objective to extend pension coverage to an individual (private sector) on a voluntary basis. In this regard, we request you to spare a few minutes and respond to the short survey being conducted by the PFRDA. Your feedback is important to us for making improvements in the scheme/its implementation,” reads the email sent by NPS’ central recordkeeping agency Protean eGov Technologies (formerly NSDL).
The survey also seeks details on subscribers’ source of income (private or government sector), the tax bracket they belong to and educational qualifications.
The purpose is to ascertain whether subscribers are investing in NPS due to the tax benefits on offer (under section 80C, 80CCD (1B) and 80CCD (2)) under the old regime, good returns or to build their retirement corpus. Subscribers have to spell out whether the tax deduction of up to Rs 50,000 under section 80CCD (1B) is sufficient or not – also, whether they would raise their contributions if the tax break were to go up.
Subscribers will have to rate the instruments they prefer for investing for the long-term – fixed deposits, PPF, ELSS, Ulips and NPS.
Also read: Minimum assured return NPS plan for risk-averse investors on the cards: PFRDA chief
Share of women subscribers, younger individuals in APY growing
In 2021, the PFRDA had released a study detailing the demographics of its voluntary subscriber base. Nearly 44 percent of the Atal Pension Yojana subscribers (APY) are women, it found.
However, under the all-citizens mode, the share of women is much lower at 24 percent, with male workers (76 percent) dominating the space. In 2016-17, women subscribers made up 38 percent of the APY base, indicating growth at a faster clip.
As of August 2022, about 44.8 percent of subscribers in APY were between 18 and 25 years of age, as compared to 29.3 percent in March 2016. The enrollment from Maharashtra was the highest, as it accounted for 17 percent of new subscribers in 2021.
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