National Pension Scheme: What happens to death claim benefits when there is no nominee

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New Delhi: The National Pension System (NPS), was created to promote retirement savings among citizens. It is an effort to find a lasting solution to the problem of giving all Indian residents a decent retirement income. By enabling participants to continuously save money throughout their working lives, NPS is a voluntary, defined contribution retirement savings plan that attempts to assist members in making the best decisions possible regarding their future.

The PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals under NPS) Regulations 2015 & Amendments thereto state that in the event of a Subscriber's passing, their complete accumulated pension wealth (100 per cent NPS Corpus) shall be transferred to their Nominees or Legal Heirs, as applicable. ()

On the Death Withdrawal Form, the nominee or legal successor must choose an Annuity Service Provider (ASP) and an Annuity Scheme if they wish to receive an annuity (pension). But what if there is no nominee added by the subscriber before their unfortunate death? Read on to find out the answers as this question ignited a lot of curiosity in the subscribers. ()

The accumulated pension wealth will be paid to the deceased subscriber's family members on the basis of a legal heir certificate issued by the State's Revenue Department or a succession certificate issued by a court of competent jurisdiction if the deceased subscriber's nomination is not registered before his or her death or the nomination is ineligible.

According to the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) (Exits and Withdrawals Under the National Pension System) Regulations 2015 and amendments thereto, the nomination, if any, existing in such subscriber's records with his or her employer for the purpose of receiving other admissible terminal benefits shall be treated as no valid nomination at the time of such subscriber's exit on account of death.