NPS Intermediaries

The Central Recordkeeping Agency sits between you and every other intermediary. PFRDA appoints more than one CRA, and you can choose which one services your account.

How it works in practice

• When you contribute, the CRA records the amount and passes instructions on to buy units in your chosen scheme
• Your holdings are tracked in units at daily NAV, kept separate from the fund house’s own books
• Switches, scheme changes and withdrawal requests are all routed and confirmed through it
• It is your first point of contact for statements, password resets and grievances

Because your record is maintained independently, your account stands on its own even if a servicing entity changes.

PFRDA has appointed three Central Recordkeeping Agencies. You choose one when you open your account, and you can move between them later — all three do the same job under the same rules.

The three CRAs

• Protean eGov Technologies (formerly NSDL e-Governance) — the first and largest CRA; it ran the original NSDL-based CRA system and still services most government and legacy subscribers.
• KFin Technologies (KFintech) — a major registrar and transfer agent; the second CRA, with a fully digital onboarding and servicing platform.
• CAMS (Computer Age Management Services) — India’s largest mutual-fund registrar and the newest NPS CRA, offering recordkeeping through its own portal and app.

Charges are near-identical across the three; the real difference is the portal/app experience. The panel is set by PFRDA and can change.

Pension Fund Managers invest within a framework PFRDA lays down, so the differences between them are deliberately narrow.

What’s going on under the bonnet

• Your money is spread across Equity (E), Corporate bonds (C) and Government securities (G)
• You pick Active Choice — you set the mix within caps — or Auto Choice, where the mix shifts to safer assets as you age
• Returns are market-linked, not guaranteed; units are valued at NAV each day
• You can switch PFM or rework your allocation within PFRDA’s limits

The PFM decides what to buy, but the securities themselves are held by the Custodian, not the fund house.

Ten PFRDA-empanelled Pension Fund Managers invest NPS money under the same rules and asset classes. You choose one, and can switch once a financial year. Here is what each is known for.

• SBI Pension Funds — One of the oldest and largest PFMs (operational since 2009), backed by India’s largest public-sector bank. A conservative-to-moderate style focused on capital preservation and high-quality debt. Strong in Scheme C and G, and a trusted choice among government subscribers; known for governance and operational stability.
• LIC Pension Fund — Runs on the investment expertise of LIC, India’s largest life insurer. A highly conservative philosophy built around safety and steady long-term returns, favouring sovereign and high-rated debt. Lower volatility than most peers — well suited to risk-averse investors nearing retirement.
• UTI Pension Fund — The oldest dedicated pension manager in India and among the first chosen under NPS (operational since 2008). Research-driven, with strong fixed-income expertise and active duration and yield management. Best known for government-securities and corporate-debt management, and consistency in debt schemes.
• HDFC Pension Management — Widely regarded as the equity benchmark of the NPS industry, consistently among the top performers in Scheme E. Growth-oriented, high-conviction equity investing focused on long-term compounding, with a strong benchmark-outperformance record. Ideal for young investors with long horizons.
• ICICI Prudential Pension Fund — One of the most well-rounded PFMs, blending strong research with a balanced approach. Delivers competitive returns across asset classes with controlled volatility and diversified portfolio construction. Known for consistency across market cycles.
• Kotak Mahindra Pension Fund — A steady, balanced performer that rarely tops the charts but avoids big underperformance. Moderate risk-taking with diversified portfolios and a focus on consistency rather than aggressive bets. Best known for reliability and stable long-term results.
• Aditya Birla Sun Life Pension Management — A later entrant that leverages the Aditya Birla AMC platform. Known for active management, tactical asset allocation and dynamic positioning, backed by strong analytical capabilities. Historically performed well in alternative investments.
• Axis Pension Fund Management — A new-generation PFM backed by Axis’s asset-management research. Modern, data-driven processes with a balanced approach to risk and return. An emerging challenger steadily growing its NPS presence.
• Tata Pension Management — Brings the Tata Group’s governance and long-term stewardship into NPS. Conservative-to-moderate, quality-focused investing with strong risk controls and transparency. Best known for governance and investment discipline.
• DSP Pension Fund Managers — The newest PFM, but with a strong mutual-fund equity heritage. Research-intensive, high-conviction, bottom-up stock selection aimed at long-term wealth creation. Seen by many as a potential future leader in equity management.

Empanelment can change over time. Returns differ by manager — see the Performance Dashboard for scheme-wise comparisons.

The point of these three is separation of duties: the party that owns the assets, the one that moves the cash, and the one that keeps the securities are all different.

Why the split matters

• The NPS Trust, set up by PFRDA, is the legal holder of the assets — you are the beneficiary, so your corpus can’t be claimed by a bank or fund house
• The Trustee Bank is the single conduit through which contributions are pooled and remitted to the PFMs, and through which payouts are settled
• The Custodian settles the trades and holds the securities in demat form, valuing them independently

No one party both holds your money and decides where it goes — that is the core safeguard.

Both are single, PFRDA/NPS-Trust-appointed entities that work in the background — you never deal with them directly.

Who they are

• Trustee Bank — Axis Bank — the sole bank that pools every day’s NPS contributions and remits them to the pension funds, and through which payouts are settled.
• Custodian — Deutsche Bank AG — the PFRDA/NPS-Trust-appointed custodian that settles the trades and safe-keeps the securities in demat form, valuing them independently of the fund managers.

These appointments are made by PFRDA / NPS Trust and can change over time; the current entities are listed on the NPS Trust website.

A Point of Presence is your assisted channel, while eNPS is the do-it-yourself route — both feed into the same CRA and Trustee Bank behind the scenes.

Choosing between them

• PoPs are useful if you want in-person help with onboarding, KYC or paperwork
• PoPs may levy PFRDA-capped charges on onboarding and each contribution; eNPS is typically lower-cost
• Whichever you use, a contribution is credited through the Trustee Bank and unitised by the CRA
• Most service requests — address, nominee, contributions — can be done online at any time

Many subscribers onboard through a PoP and then manage the account themselves on eNPS.

There are 100+ Points of Presence across the country, plus the online eNPS route — so you are rarely far from a place to open or service an account.

Types of PoP

• Banks — most major banks are PoPs, e.g. SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bank of Baroda and PNB.
• NBFCs, brokers & fintechs — several non-bank financial companies and investment platforms are also empanelled PoPs.
• eNPS (online) — the do-it-yourself channel on the NPS Trust / CRA websites, usually the lowest-cost option.

The full PoP list is maintained by PFRDA and updated regularly. Many subscribers onboard via a PoP and then self-manage on eNPS.