Overseas Citizens of India may now subscribe to National Pension System

NEW DELHI: Overseas citizens of India will now be able to enroll in the National Pension Scheme in par with resident Indians, according to a notification by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

" Now, any Indian citizen, resident or non-resident and OCIs are eligible to join NPS till the age of 65 years," said a release by the government.

Existing eligibility criteria for participation in the National Pensions Scheme will apply to overseas citizens and OCIs will be able to repatriate accumulated savings or annuities as per the FEMA guidelines.


The National Pension Scheme was first notified for all government employee joining service from Jan 1 2004 and was later extended to all Indian citizens on a voluntary basis from May 2009.

The government had in the Union budget announced an increase in the limit for tax exemption upon withdrawal or exit on maturity from the scheme from 40% to 60%.

The remaining 40% of the invested amount by individuals is mandatorily received as an annuity and is also tax exempt.

According to the government release over 3.18 crore individuals have subscribed to the NPS or Atal Pension Yojana as on October 26 with Rs 3,79,758 crores of total assets under management under the schemes.