Investors can track their mutual fund holdings and demat securities in the consolidated account statement (CAS) provided by NSDL and CDSL. Now, National Pension System (NPS) subscribers also have the option to stay informed on their NPS investments through CAS. This newly-launched facility will help investors track their financial assets, as envisioned by the Government. Let us find out how you can track the NPS corpus and charges involved with this facility.
Tie-up explained
Pension regulator PFRDA has integrated the NPS Statement of Transaction (SoT) with CAS. Currently, the NPS SoT is shared annually, either physically or through email, and it can also be viewed online in the CRA (central record keeping agency) login. Typically, CRA is mandated to send a physical copy of the SoT of your pension account to the correspondence address recorded with it, once in a year. SOT is also e-mailed to the registered email address of the subscriber on a periodic basis
Now, PFRDA has enabled CRAs to integrate with depositories registered with SEBI, to provide NPS subscribers the option to include NPS transactions in CAS. Till date, nearly 50,000 subscribers have provided their consent to avail of the facility.
Consent required
NPS subscribers who want to include NPS SoT in CAS have to provide their consent on the website of the CRAs concerned, according to PFRDA.
The procedure for giving consent for inclusion of NPS details in CAS differs slightly as per the specific CRA (Protean, KFin and CAMS).
Protean CRA: Subscribers can visit the Protean CRA website. In the News section, click on the link to provide consent for availing of NPS details in CAS. Enter the 12-digit PRAN, PAN and Date of Birth. Submit the declaration. Enter the OTP received on the registered mobile and email ID. On successful consent submission, NPS investments will be reflected in CAS.
KFin CRA: Subscribers can log in to the NPS account on the KFin CRA website. Select the Statement Menu on the left and click on CAS statement. Subscribers need to give their consent for CAS, Yes/ No, and the charges will be shown to subscribers. Once the option is selected, subscribers need to click on the submit button to capture the CAS request. On selection of the Yes option, a message for dispatch mode appears. Subscribers will need to select the mode type - physical or e-mail. Subscribers also have the option to opt out of CAS.
CAMS CRA: Subscribers can log in to his/ her CAMS NPS Account, and navigate the ‘statements’ tab. In this section, the subscribers can select ‘CAS’ option. Thereafter, subscribers have to provide consent for sharing their NPS details with the depository and press ‘submit.
Costs
A fee of Re 1 will be applicable for each physical statement request, while 10 paise will be charged for each email statement, according to PFRDA.
Our take
There are broadly three benefits of Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) for NPS subscribers.
One, CAS eliminates the need to maintain separate statements for different investments, such as stocks, MFs and NPS, by summarising the details in one comprehensive statement. This reduces paperwork and provides a consolidated view of all investments at one place, making it easier to manage and track the same.
Two, with the increasing popularity of online contribution and digital payment methods, CAS plays a crucial role in ensuring safety of information pertaining to contributions/ investments. By receiving monthly updates, an NPS subscriber can stay alert and promptly identify any unauthorised transactions. In case of fraudulent activities, the subscriber can inform the associated intermediary at the earliest.
Three, CAS keeps subscribers well-informed about their investments. With a monthly update of all NPS transactions and holdings, they can easily monitor the performance of investments, stay updated on any changes, and make informed decisions accordingly.