As an NPS subscriber, he or she cannot obtain a loan against his or her NPS account. Though, subject to specific criteria, subscribers may opt for partial withdrawal.
Note that the online partial withdrawal facility from the National Pension System (NPS) account through self-declaration will no longer be available for government sector subscribers, starting from January 1, 2023. This partial withdrawal rule change will impact NPS subscribers from the central government, state government, and central autonomous bodies.
Read more: NPS partial withdrawal rule to change for these subscribers from January; know what’s new
A partial withdrawal facility is available for NPS subscribers where they can opt for withdrawal of a certain amount out of their contributions subject to certain conditions.
Conditions for partial withdrawal
According to the FAQ on NPS partial withdrawal, the following are the conditions for availing of partial withdrawal:
1. A subscriber shall have been in the NPS at least for the period of three years from the date of his or her joining (in case of govt. & corporate subscribers)/date of PRAN generation (in case of ’All Citizens’ sector).
2. A subscriber shall be allowed to withdraw only a maximum of three times during the entire tenure of the subscription.
3. A subscriber can opt for withdrawal not exceeding 25% of contributions made by him/her.
What are the reasons for availing of partial withdrawal?
NPS partial withdrawal is allowed only for specified reasons such as
a) Higher education for children
b) Marriage of children
c) For the purchase/construction of the residential house.
d) For treatment of specified illnesses for the subscriber, spouse, and children.
c) To meet medical and incidental expenses arising out of the disability or incapacitation suffered by the subscriber
d) For skill development/re-skilling or any other self-development activities
e) For the establishment of own venture or any start-up (only for ’all citizens’ sector subscribers).
Do note that NPS partial withdrawal is permitted for the treatment of specified illnesses which includes Covid-19 as well.
The subscriber is not required to provide any supporting documents to get partial withdrawal. The subscriber must accept the self-declaration as the basis for the partial withdrawal.
What is the process for partial withdrawal?
Step 1: Subscriber will initiate an online partial withdrawal request in the CRA system (www.cra-nsdl.com) by logging in with PRAN as user ID & password.
Step 2: Then, select the “Tier I Partial Withdrawal” option under “Continuation & Withdrawal” Menu.
Step 3: Subscriber will provide the required percentage and reason for partial withdrawal.
Step 4: During request initiation, the bank account of the subscriber will be verified through online bank account verification
Step 5: Subscriber will accept the self-declaration for NPS partial withdrawal. Not applicable for the central government, state government, and central autonomous bodies, as per the new rule
Pre-requisites for online partial withdrawal
a) The subscriber must meet the prerequisites for partial withdrawal as outlined in the PFRDA standards.
b) The subscriber’s active bank account information is updated in his/her NPS account. The subscriber’s bank should be approved for online bank account verification.
c) The subscriber must submit the request using OTP authentication/ eSign. To get OTP as part of OTP authentication, the subscriber’s valid mobile number and email ID must be registered in CRA. Otherwise, the Aadhaar-registered Mobile Number must be valid in order to receive OTP as part of the e-sign, and the name in the Aadhar and CRA records must match.