Know How NPS Subscribers Can Reactivate NPS Account After It Becomes Inactive

A subscriber must make a minimum yearly payment of Rs 6,000 to his tier-I account to avoid the account being locked. Know how to reactivate or unfreeze an NPS account in such a case

For eNPS accounts, contributions can be made online. With a minimum payment of Rs 500 within a fiscal year, a subscriber can unfreeze the NPS account. ( Image Source :Getty )

New pension scheme (NPS) is a voluntary retirement savings scheme that helps investors to save for their future. The pension scheme is regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority. Subscribers have the option to choose their own investment options and pension fund. The scheme is regulated by PFRDA.

It is considered the world’s lowest-cost pension scheme because of its lower administrative charges and fund management fees. An NPS subscriber must pay a minimum initial contribution of Rs 500 for tier-I and Rs 1,000 for tier-II at the time of registration, followed by a yearly contribution based on the account to keep the account active.

However, there are chances that the NPS account is frozen in absence of a contribution. In such a case you may need to reactivate or unfreeze the account NPS account due to non-payment.

Know how to reactivate the NPS account 

Offline method: Note that a subscriber must make a minimum yearly payment of Rs 6,000 to his tier I account in a fiscal year otherwise the account would be locked. If you want to unfreeze the account, you need to pay the total of the minimum contributions made during the freeze period. This means you need to pay the minimum contribution for the year in which the account is reactivated and a penalty of Rs 100. Points of Presence, or PoPs, are service providers present all across the country and work as the first point of contact for NPS account holders in the NPS architecture. 

In the Annexure UOS-S10-A form, which is the required form for unfreezing PRAN, check the boxes labelled "tier-I," "tier-II," and "both (tier-I and tier-II)" accounts. 

Online method: For eNPS accounts, contributions can be made online. With a minimum payment of Rs 500 within a fiscal year, you can unfreeze the NPS account. You can make the payment to unfreeze the account online through eNPS. On the E-NPS Portal homepage, click "Contribution." You can make a contribution on the following page after providing your Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) and birthdate. You will receive the confirmation email from the CRA once the minimum contribution of Rs 500 has been paid, at which point one can make additional contributions to their NPS accounts.

Penalty 
The penalty of Rs 100 is applicable to unfreeze tier-I/ tier-II or both accounts. Subscribers to NPS Swavalamban scheme, which is meant for unorganised sector workers, have to pay a Rs 25 penalty. For regular accounts, you need to pay Rs 500 for the current fiscal year plus a penalty of Rs 100 for the year(s) of freezing. If the contribution amount is less than the minimum expected amount, the CRA system will reject the contribution during the upload process.