NPS New Charges From 1 October 2026: 0.20% Yearly Fee
From 1 October 2026, NPS accounts run through a bank or agent pay a ₹200 joining fee and 0.20% of the corpus a year. Who pays, who is exempt, how to avoid it.
By Balaji Anbazhagan
· 5 min read
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If you hold your National Pension System (NPS) account through a bank or an agent, it now costs a little more to run. From 1 October 2026, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has replaced the fees that these Points of Presence (PoPs) can charge with a simpler structure: a one-time ₹200 joining fee and an annual 0.20% of your NPS balance. Accounts opened and topped up yourself through e-NPS do not pay these PoP charges. Here is what changes and how much it costs you.
The short answer
- New rules from 1 October 2026, under PFRDA circular PFRDA/2026/46/REG-POP/08 dated 28 August 2026. They replace the circular of 10 March 2026.
- Joining fee: ₹200 per PRAN through a PoP, or ₹100 if opened through a PoP’s fully digital process. It is recovered as ₹50 a quarter by cancelling units.
- Annual fee: 0.20% a year of your NPS balance, taken through the fund’s NAV and paid to the PoP every quarter. GST is extra.
- Exempt: subscribers who joined through e-NPS and contribute through e-NPS or D-Remit, and dormant accounts (no contribution for four quarters in a row).
- Applies to: All Citizen NPS, NPS Lite and NPS Vatsalya accounts serviced by a PoP. Deductions start from the October–December 2026 quarter.
The new charges
| Charge | Amount | How it is taken |
|---|---|---|
| Onboarding (through a PoP) | ₹200 per PRAN, one time | ₹50 a quarter for four quarters, by cancelling units |
| Onboarding (PoP, fully digital) | ₹100, one time | In quarterly instalments, by cancelling units |
| Annual PoP charge | 0.20% of your balance a year | Adjusted in the NAV, paid to the PoP quarterly |
| Dormant account | Nil | No PoP charge while no contribution is made for four quarters in a row |
| GST | Extra | On top of the charges above |
Because the annual fee is built into the NAV, you will not see it as a separate line in your NPS statement. It shows up as a slightly lower NAV than the same scheme would have without it.
What 0.20% a year costs you
The fee is a percentage of your whole balance, so it grows as your corpus grows.
| Your NPS balance | Approx. annual PoP charge (before GST) |
|---|---|
| ₹5 lakh | ₹1,000 |
| ₹10 lakh | ₹2,000 |
| ₹25 lakh | ₹5,000 |
| ₹50 lakh | ₹10,000 |
Over 20 or 30 years, a fee charged on the full balance every year adds up. That is not a reason to leave NPS, which remains one of the cheapest long-term retirement products, but it is a reason to know which route your account is on.
Who pays and who does not
| You… | PoP charges apply? |
|---|---|
| Opened NPS at a bank branch or through an agent, and contribute there | Yes |
| Opened through a PoP, but now contribute through e-NPS or D-Remit | Yes. Where you joined decides it |
| Opened through e-NPS and contribute through e-NPS or D-Remit | No |
| Have an NPS Lite or NPS Vatsalya account serviced by a PoP | Yes |
| Are a central or state government employee in mandatory NPS run through your office | No, a separate track applies |
| Have a dormant account (no contribution for 4 quarters in a row) | No, while it stays dormant |
What to do now
- Find out how you joined. Your account statement or the CRA website shows whether your PRAN is linked to a PoP.
- If you are opening a new account, opening it yourself on the e-NPS portal and contributing through e-NPS or D-Remit avoids PoP charges entirely.
- If you already joined through a bank, switching your contributions to e-NPS alone does not remove the charges, because the rule looks at where you were onboarded. Ask your PoP or CRA about the options for your account before acting.
- Re-run your retirement numbers. A 0.20% lower return each year changes the final corpus. Check the effect on the NPS calculator by lowering your expected return slightly.
- If you are in Atal Pension Yojana, estimate your pension on the APY calculator; this circular is about NPS and NPS Lite schemes.
Also launched on NPS Diwas
PFRDA marked NPS Diwas, 1 October 2026, with a few launches alongside the new fees:
- NPS Swasthya, a new option that combines an NPS account with a super top-up health insurance policy. See how NPS Swasthya works.
- NPS Sanchay Pension Yatra, a drive to sign up informal-sector workers, starting in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata, with a minimum first contribution of ₹250.
- NPS Central, a single portal that brings together the three record-keeping agencies (Protean, KFin Technologies and CAMS) with one login and one dashboard.
NPS and Atal Pension Yojana together have about 10 crore subscribers and roughly ₹18 lakh crore in assets.
Frequently asked questions
What are the new NPS charges from 1 October 2026? For accounts serviced through a Point of Presence: a one-time ₹200 onboarding fee (₹100 in a PoP’s fully digital mode), recovered at ₹50 a quarter, and an annual charge of 0.20% of your balance, adjusted through the NAV. GST is extra.
Do e-NPS users pay the 0.20% charge? No, if they joined through e-NPS and contribute through e-NPS or D-Remit. Subscribers who joined through a PoP pay it even if they later contribute online.
Will I see the 0.20% deduction in my statement? No. It is adjusted through the scheme’s NAV, not cancelled from your units as a separate entry. The ₹200 joining fee does show as unit cancellations.
Is the fee charged on dormant accounts? No. An account with no contribution for four quarters in a row is not charged the annual PoP fee while it stays dormant.
When will the new charges first be deducted? From the October–December 2026 quarter (Q3 of FY 2026-27) onwards.
Sources
- Upstox, “NPS, NPS Lite charges revised from October 1: Check new PoP fees and onboarding charges”: upstox.com
- Goodreturns, “NPS New Rules From October 1, 2026: PFRDA Revises PoP Charges”: goodreturns.in
- StaffNews, “Charge structure applicable to PoPs for All Schemes under NPS and NPS Lite: PFRDA Circular”: staffnews.in
- Outlook Money, “NPS Sanchay Yatra, NPS Swasthya, And NPS Central Launched: What You Should Know”: outlookmoney.com
This article is for general information and education, not financial, tax or investment advice. Rules and rates change; check official sources or consult a qualified professional before acting. See our disclaimer.