According to the most recent PFRDA statistics, the National Pension System (NPS) assets reached ₹12.69 lakh crore as of July 20, a 28.33% year-over-year rise. This growth was driven by buoyant equities markets and an expanding non-government sector subscriber base.
NPS assets had a healthy 30.5 per cent YoY increase in 2023–24, reaching ₹11.73 lakh crore at the end of March 2024, thanks to a good performance from the private sector.
As of July 20, 2024, the assets of the private sector NPS have grown by a staggering 39.62 percent year over year to ₹2.52 lakh crore.
As of July 20, there were 57.44 lakh customers in the private sector, an increase of 9.12 lakh year over year. As of July 20, the assets under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) have increased to ₹38,827 crore, representing a 31.03 percent year-over-year increase. In 2023–2024, the PFRDA added 1.2 crore APY members. The goal for this fiscal year is 1.3 crore. The net addition to the APY membership base thus far this fiscal year has been around 20 lakh.
Growth in the private sector has improved this fiscal year for all programs, including APY. The recent significant rise of NPS assets may be attributed mostly to the private sector.
According to recent statements made by PFRDA Officials , the pension regulator wants to see ₹15 lakh crore in total NPS assets by the end of March 2025.
According to PFRDA data, 2,58,957 new NPS and APY subscriber registrations were made until July 23 of this fiscal year. In 2024–2025, PFRDA currently plans to add around 11 lakh additional NPS users from the private sector. Up to 9.7 lakh employees in the private sector signed up for NPS in the previous fiscal year. The net increase of private sector customers as of July 22 of this fiscal year was 2.32 lakh. Considering that the AUM was only around ₹ 1 lakh crore in 2015, it is clear that NPS assets have grown rapidly overall.
In August of last year, NPS assets crossed the ₹10 lakh crore threshold.
POWERFUL RETURNS IN EQUITY:
As of July, pension funds had a strong average annual return of 32.50% thanks to booming stock markets.
In the last three years, the average return on equity investments made by pension funds was 19.34%; from the start of NPS, returns on equity investments have averaged 14.21%. Corporate bonds experienced an annual return of 7.70 percent as of July 19 of this year, while government securities saw a return of 9.10 percent.
According to statistics, the yearly returns from Central and State government plans were 11.33 percent and 11.41 percent, respectively. As of June 29 of current year, there were 7.60 crore NPS and APY subscribers overall, a 16.73% increase from 6.51 crore.
The Budget 2024-25 proposes increased tax deductions for NPS contributions by employers and employees in the non-government sector. Employers’ deductions will increase from 10% to 14% of employee salaries.
NPS-Vatsalya:
Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the launch of NPS-Vatsalya, a plan for contribution by parents and guardians for minors.
