The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has issued a set of revised guidelines for registration of pension fund managers to manage the National Pension System (NPS) for the non-Government and private sector.
The new guidelines have done away with the earlier bidding process, where a pre-determined number of slots were bid for by the pension fund managers (PFMs) and the fees charged by them had to be uniform.
Now, there is no limitation on the number of PFMs. Also, the PFMs are now allowed to prescribe their own fee charges, subject to an overall ceiling to be laid down by PFRDA.
It is expected that this would provide for an economically viable business model for the PFMs attracting a fresh set of entrants into the pension industry, according to an official release. The resultant competition would ensure market-driven fee structures, which would work to the advantage of the pension subscribers, it added.
The recommendations of the Bajpai Committee set up by PFRDA to go into the reasons for the slow progress of NPS in the private sector.