PHD Chamber of Commerce and industry on 25thFebruary 2026 hosted an awareness session on “National Pension System (NPS) for Corporates” at PHD House in Delhi.
The session began with a welcome note and a brief address by Ms Babeeta Sharma, Director, PHDCCI.
The tone of the discussion was set by a keynote address by Mr Rahul Ravindran, Executive Director, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). While introducing the NPS system to the audience, he stated – “The National Pension System (NPS), introduced in 2003 and regulated by PFRDA, is a government-backed retirement savings framework open to all Indian citizens. Its standout feature is its unbundled architecture, where responsibilities are distributed across multiple independent intermediaries — enhancing transparency, accountability and oversight. With over 9 Crore subscribers and ₹16.5 trillion assets under management, it has significant scale.
Individuals can join through employment (mandatory for government employees, voluntary for corporates) or independently. Currently, over 24,000 corporates are currently enrolled, representing a largely untapped opportunity. Corporates can structure contributions flexibly — employee only, employer only, or co-contribution models.
NPS is a flexible, low cost and a portable scheme that provides tax benefits to its subscribers — ideal for today’s mobile workforce. Beyond being a financial product, NPS serves as a broader social security architecture aimed at ensuring retirement dignity for millions of Indians.”
Explaining the structure and benefits of the NPS system for corporates, Mr Sumit Kumar, Chief General Manager, PFRDA, said – “The National Pension System (NPS) is regulated by PFRDA and offers meaningful tax benefits even under the new tax regime, which is what makes it stand out today.
The biggest advantage for corporates lies in employer contributions. If a company contributes to an employee’s NPS account — up to 14% of Basic + DA for private sector employees — that amount is not added to the employee’s taxable income. At the same time, the employer can claim it as a business expense deduction. This benefit is available even under the new tax regime, unlike most other deductions. It’s a genuine win-win: employees get extra retirement savings with no extra tax and employers get a tax deduction along with a powerful retention tool.
On the exit side, NPS is highly tax-efficient. At retirement, up to 60% of the corpus can be withdrawn completely tax-free. The remaining 40% goes into an annuity to provide regular pension income and no GST applies on that purchase. Partial withdrawals of up to 25% of your own contributions are also allowed tax-free for specific needs like medical emergencies or education.
In a world where most deductions have disappeared under the new tax regime, NPS remains one of the few structured, tax-efficient tools for retirement planning — making it a smart addition to any corporate compensation strategy.”
The awareness session concluded with an insightful Q&A session between the audience and PFRDA officials.