Pension regulator, PFRDA, today said that it would like to maintain the 50 per cent limit on investment in equities for the new pension fund, regardless of the recommendation of the Bajpai committee.
“We think that at the current stage of pension market in the country, investing more than 50 per cent in equities is not going to be fair to investors in terms of the risk that has to be taken, and therefore, we tend to retain the cap at 50 per cent,” Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Chairman, Mr Yogesh Agarwal, said on the sidelines of the 26th Skoch Summit here.
The Bajpai Committee, headed by former Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman, Mr G N Bajpai, has been entrusted with the task of analysing the fee structure and suggesting changes to the National Pension System (NPS).
Initially, the Government launched the New Pension System for Central Government employees for those joining service from January 1, 2004, but it was extended to all citizens from May 1, 2009.
Currently, 7 pension fund managers are managing assets of about Rs 9,000—crore. Of this, about Rs 100—crore is contributed by pension schemes for persons other than Government employees.
These fund managers include LIC Pension Fund Ltd, SBI Pension Funds Ltd, UTI Retirement Solutions, IDFC Pension Fund Management, ICICI Prudential Pension Funds Management, Kotak Mahindra Pension Fund and Reliance Capital Pension Fund.