All Indian citizens aged 18-70 can open a National Pension System (NPS) account with certain conditions. NPS offers two types of accounts: Tier 1 for pension and Tier 2 for wealth creation. Resident Indians can open both accounts, provided they have a Tier 1 account. Central and state government employees, including those working in autonomous bodies, are mandatorily covered in NPS, subject to the applicable date. However, they must approach their HR departments or Pay and Accounts Offices (the nodal NPS office for govt. employees) to open an account.

The quickest way to join or contribute to an NPS account is online. In offline mode, they must approach the Points of Presence (PoPs) appointed by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) for the purpose. NPS subscribers also get tax deductions up to Rs 2 lakh in a financial year.

However, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) can only open a Tier 1 account, subject to fulfilling their mandatory documentary requirements.

NPS Account Opening Process For NRIs And OCIs

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Here are 10 steps for NRIs and OCIs to open an NPS account

Step 1: Visit the either NPS Trust or PFRDA website and choose “eNPS”. Click the “registration” button and choose “new registration” to initiate the process.

Step 2: Select the status NRI and account type: “repatriable” or “non-repatriable” and select option to register with Aadhaar.

Step 3: Enter the passport and Aadhaar numbers and click generate OTP. After that, enter OTP received on the Aadhaar-registered mobile number and click continue.

Step 4: For repatriable accounts, select one of the empaneled banks to submit and verify Non-Resident External (NRE) or Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) account details. For non-repatriable accounts, the subscriber must self-declare their NRE/NRO account details.

Step 5: Then, fill out the form with demographic details, such as name, phone number, address, date of birth, photo, etc., generally auto-filled from Aadhaar database.

Step 6: Select the occupation and relevant details from the available option and submit the necessary documents for foreign address proof, scanned signature, etc., for verification.

Step 7: Click the “save and proceed” button.

Step 8: Select the pension fund manager and the investment choice, active or auto. In active choice, specify the allocation percentage in asset classes. One can nominate up to three people and decide the percentage share.

Step 9: Click the “save and proceed” button.

Step 10: Submit the payment details of your initial contribution (minimum Rs 500) and click submit. It will direct you to the payment gateway, and after successful payment, you will receive a Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN).

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Finally, in a repatriable account, the subsequent contributions must be made via the account provided during registration. In non-repatriable accounts, contributions can be made through any mode, including net banking and credit and debit cards. In the case of resident Indians, they must submit Aadhaar details, signature, appointment or offer letter, employee ID card, ID proof and additional applicable documents.