This is with reference to Regulation 6 (e) of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Exits and Withdrawal from National Pension System) Regulation 2015, providing for the treatment of additional benefits provided by the government like Family Pension. In this regard, the Authority has provided guidelines for adjustment/transfer of· accumulated pension wealth in the subscribers’ account to the government nodal office in the event of the government providing an additional benefit in the nature of family pension to the family members/subscriber upon their request.
However, in order to ensure that such claimants take an informed decision on availing such family pension vis-a-vis the benefits available to them under National Pension System (NPS), it has been decided that the concerned nodal office shall obtain from CRA registered under NPS the information about the likely monthly annuity amount with the accumulated pension wealth in the subscribers account and inform the claimants along with the family pension they are eligible to get. This is to ensure that the claimants/ family members of the subscriber/subscriber takes an informed decision in the matter of availing the benefits available to him.
The Authority is undertaking steps to provide for an annuity quote calculator on the website of CRA registered under NPS for facilitating the same and, in the interim, such nodal offices can write to CRA atnpsclaimassist@nsdl.co.in to provide the approximate pension per month that can be derived from the purchase of an annuity for the accumulated pension wealth in the subscribers account by giving the PRA number and other details. Upon receipt of the information from CRA the nodal office can guide the claimants appropriately based on the annuity available under NPS and the monthly pension that is available under the additional relief by way of family pension being offered to them.
Regulation 6(e) is to be read in conjunction with Regulation 3 (b) and 3 (c) of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Exits and Withdrawal from National Pension System) Regulation 201 Sand is applicable only if the concerned Central or State Government is offering such additional relief by way of family pension to its employee. It may also be noted that the grant of additional relief by way of family pension etc., is the sole prerogative of the concerned Central or State Government entity and the Authority has no role to play in this regard.
The clarificatory guidelines for removal of difficulty are being issued by the Authority in exercise of its powers under Section 14 of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 2013 read with Regulation 39 of the PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals from National Pension System) Regulations, 2015.
(Venkateswarlu Peri)
General Mana
