The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on May 15, 2026, notified regarding the Introduction of Retirement Income Schemes (RIS) and Drawdown options under the National Pension System (NPS).
The following has been stated:
• It has introduced new Retirement Income Schemes (RIS) and flexible drawdown options under the National Pension System to provide retirees with a more stable and systematic post-retirement income.
• Under the new framework, NPS subscribers can opt for periodic withdrawals on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis up to the age of 85 years instead of withdrawing the entire corpus at once.
• A new lifecycle fund named “RIS Steady” has also been launched, wherein equity exposure will gradually reduce from 35% at age 60 to 10% by age 75, helping balance growth and risk during retirement. Subscribers can choose between two payout methods — Systematic Payout Rate (SPR), based on a predefined withdrawal rate, and Systematic Unit Redemption (SUR), involving redemption of equal units periodically.
• The new facility will not alter the existing mandatory annuity purchase requirements under NPS.
[Notification no. - PFRDA/2026/31/MWnR/01]
