NPS is ideal for salaried employees (to get employer matching + triple tax benefits), self-employed individuals looking for retirement corpus, anyone in 30% tax bracket (maximize ₹50K 80CCD(1B) benefit), and those seeking low-cost, disciplined retirement savings. Not ideal for those needing liquidity before age 60.

Tier 1 minimum: ₹500/contribution, ₹1,000/year. Tier 2 minimum: ₹1,000 initially, ₹250/contribution thereafter. There is NO MAXIMUM LIMIT on contributions. You can contribute lakhs per year.

Partial withdrawal (Tier 1): Up to 25% of your contribution after 3 years, for specific purposes (higher education, marriage, house purchase, critical illness). Maximum 3 withdrawals during NPS tenure. Premature exit: Allowed after 10 years, but 80% must be used for annuity. Tier 2: Withdraw anytime, any amount, no restrictions.

At age 60, you can: (1) Withdraw up to 60% as lump sum (tax-free from April 2019), (2) Use minimum 40% to purchase annuity (provides monthly pension for life), (3) Defer withdrawal until age 75 and continue contributing. The 40% annuity is mandatory to get lifetime monthly pension.

NPS returns are market-linked based on your asset allocation (equity/corporate bonds/government securities). Historical returns: Aggressive (75% equity): 10-12% p.a., Moderate (50% equity): 9-10% p.a., Conservative (25% equity): 8-9% p.a. Returns vary yearly and are not guaranteed. Check past performance on PFRDA website.

Maximum personal deduction: ₹2 lakh (80C+80CCD(1): ₹1.5L + 80CCD(1B): ₹50K additional). Note: 80CCD(1) is WITHIN the 80C limit, not separate. Plus, employer contribution under 80CCD(2) has no limit (10-14% of salary). For 30% tax bracket, max personal tax saving: ₹60,000/year (₹2L × 30%). If employer contributes ₹60K, additional ₹18K saved. Total: ₹78K/year.

No, employer contribution is voluntary for private sector (but some companies offer it as part of CTC). It's mandatory for central government employees (14% of basic) since January 2004. State government employees also get matching contribution as per state rules.

Yes, you can change PFM once per financial year. Log in to CRA portal (https://cra-nsdl.com/), go to 'Change PFM', select new fund manager, and submit request. Process takes 2-3 weeks. No charges for the first change; ₹25 for subsequent changes.

Active Choice: You decide asset allocation (equity: 0-75%, corporate bonds, government securities). Auto Choice: Age-based allocation. Lifecycle Fund (LC-75/LC-50/LC-25): As you age, equity reduces automatically for safety. Example (LC-75): Age 25 → 75% equity, Age 55 → 15% equity.

NPS has one of the lowest charges globally: Fund management fee: 0.01-0.09% p.a. (varies by fund manager), CRA charges: ₹99/year (Tier 1), ₹50/year (Tier 2), Transaction charge: ₹0.25 per transaction (online), ₹2-20 for offline. Total cost: ~0.1-0.2% annually (much lower than mutual funds at 1-2%).

Yes, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) can open NPS accounts, but: (1) Can only use repatriable funds (NRE/FCNR account), (2) Contributions must be in INR only, (3) Same tax benefits as residents, (4) PRAN freezes if they become foreign national. Can reopen if they return to India.

Nominee/legal heir receives entire corpus (Tier 1 + Tier 2). Tier 1 corpus is fully tax-exempt in nominee's hands. Nominee can: (1) Withdraw entire amount, or (2) Purchase annuity with corpus to get monthly pension. If death before age 60 and corpus > ₹2.5 lakh, nominee must use 80% for annuity.

No, one person can have only ONE PRAN (Permanent Retirement Account Number) for entire lifetime. But you can have both Tier 1 and Tier 2 under the same PRAN. If you change jobs, same PRAN continues—just update employer details.

PPF: Fixed returns (7.1% currently), ₹1.5L max/year, 15-year lock-in, 80C limit. EPF: 8.25% fixed, only for salaried, mandatory, ₹1.5L 80C limit. NPS: Market-linked returns (9-12%), no max contribution, extra ₹50K deduction (80CCD(1B)), exit at 60. NPS has higher potential returns but market risk.

Yes, but: Tier 1 requires minimum ₹1,000/year to keep account active. If no contribution for 1 year, account becomes dormant (₹100 penalty to reactivate). If inactive for 5+ years, account may be frozen. You can resume contributions anytime. Tier 2 has no minimum requirement—can remain inactive without penalty.

Annuity = Insurance product that provides lifelong monthly pension in exchange for lump sum payment. At retirement, 40% of Tier 1 corpus must be used to buy annuity from PFRDA-empanelled providers (LIC, SBI Life, HDFC Life, Star Union, etc.). You choose provider and annuity type (life only, joint life, ROP, etc.) at retirement.

No, NPS tax benefits (80CCD(1), 80CCD(1B)) are NOT available under the new tax regime introduced in Budget 2020. Only employer contribution (80CCD(2)) is allowed. If you want NPS tax benefits, you must choose old tax regime.

No, EPF and PPF balances cannot be transferred to NPS. These are separate retirement schemes with different rules. However, you can withdraw EPF/PPF as per their rules and separately invest in NPS if you want to build NPS corpus.

Three ways: (1) CRA Portal: Login at https://cra-nsdl.com/ with PRAN and password. View holdings, transaction history, returns. (2) NPS Mobile App: Download from Play Store/App Store. (3) SMS: Send 'NPSTRANS [PRAN]' to 57150 for last 5 transactions. Statements also sent to registered email quarterly.