Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) approves NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme pilot under regulatory sandbox.

Key facts

• The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) issued the circular on Tuesday.
• The pilot NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme operates under the Regulatory Sandbox Framework as a proof of concept.
• Subscribers can withdraw up to 25 per cent of their own contributions for medical expenses with no cap on the number of withdrawals.
• A minimum accumulated corpus of Rs 50,000 is required before the first withdrawal.
• Full premature exit with 100 per cent lump sum is allowed if inpatient medical expenses exceed 70 per cent of the total corpus in a single instance.
• Subscribers above 40 years (excluding government sector) may transfer up to 30 per cent of contributions from their existing NPS common account to the Swasthya Pension Scheme account.
• Pension funds (PFs) must obtain prior PFRDA approval and may partner with fintech firms, health benefit administrators (HBAs), or third-party administrators (TPAs).
• The pilot runs for a limited period with a restricted subscriber base; unviability will allow corpus transfer back to the common NPS account.