Changes in process flow of e-Nomination for the benefit Government / Corporate Sector Subscribers: PFRDA

Changes in process flow of e-Nomination for the benefit Government / Corporate Sector Subscribers: PFRDA Circular dated 25.08.2022

PENSION FUND REGULATORY AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

CIRCULAR

Circular No. PFRDA/2022/19/SUP-CRA/6

Aug 25, 2022

To,
All the NPS stakeholders

Subject: Changes in process flow of e-Nomination for the benefit Government / Corporate Sector Subscribers

PFRDA had introduced e-Nomination facility for the benefit of NPS Subscribers vide its communication dt. 03.09.2020.

2. The existing Subscribers of NPS who wish to change their nomination in their PRAN can use ‘e- Nomination’ through their login credentials. The Subscribers can also opt to submit the application for changes in the Nomination, physically to the associated Nodal Officers, Corporate or Points of Presence (POPs) as the case may be.

3. In case of e-Nomination of the Subscribers associated with the Government/ Identified Corporate, the e- Nomination requests need to be authorized by the associated Nodal Office/Identified Corporate for changing the nomination in the PRAN of Subscribers as maintained by the respective CRA. There are a large number of pendency of e-Nomination requests of Subscribers, which are attributed to the non-authorization by the associated Nodal Office/Corporate.

4. In the interest of Subscribers, it has been decided that once the subscriber initiates the nomination request, the Nodal Office would be given an option of either Accept or Reject the nomination request. In case, the Nodal Office has not initiated any action against the request within the 30 days period, the request would get accepted in CRA system. The revised process flow shall also be applicable to the existing e-Nomination, which are still unauthorized.

5. The nomination rules are defined by PFRDA Exit Regulations. The relevant extracts of the nomination provided at the Annexure I for ready reference. The Subscribers and stake holders are informed, be guided by the nomination rules, and familiarize themselves while updating the nomination.

6. In the e-Nomination, the Subscribers will also need to submit an online declaration stating that “I understand and consent to that nomination being made by me now shall be invalid ab initio if it is not consistent with Regulation 32 of the PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals) Regulations, 2015 and amendments”.

7. The NPST/Nodal Officers/POPs/CRA/Corporate can educate their Subscribers about the rules of Nomination and suitably advise them for making the changes in the Nomination if those nominations are not as per PFRDA Guidelines. The roles (indicative but not exhaustive) of each Intermediary/ Employer enclosed at the Annexure II for ready reference.

The revision in the e-Nomination process flow shall be effective from 1st Oct 2022.

Digitally signed by
K MOHAN GANDHI
Chief General Manager

Annexure I

CHAPTER VII of PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals under the NPS) Regulations, 2015:

Regulation 32. Nomination. – Notwithstanding anything contained in these regulations or in any other law for the time being in force, a subscriber, at the time of joining the National Pension System is required to make a nomination, in the specified form, conferring on one or more persons the right to receive the amount that may stand to his or her credit in the accumulated wealth or fund in the event of his or her death, before that amount becomes payable or having become payable has not been paid. The nominee or nominees, as the case may be, shall be entitled, on the death of the subscriber, to receive, to the exclusion of all other persons, all such moneys which have so remained unpaid:

Provided that, –

1. if the nominee predeceases the subscriber, the nomination shall so far as it relates to the right conferred upon the said nominee, become void and of no effect;
2. where a provision has been duly made in the nomination, in accordance with these regulations, conferring upon some other person the right to receive all such moneys, which have so remained unpaid, in the event of the nominee predeceasing the subscriber, such right shall, upon the nominee being deceased, pass to such other persons standing as nominees;
3. a subscriber may in his nomination distribute the amount that may stand to his credit in the fund amongst his nominees at his own discretion;
4. if a subscriber has a family at the time of making a nomination, the nomination shall be in favour of one or more persons belonging to his family. Any nomination made by such subscriber in favour of a person not belonging to his family shall be invalid;
5. a fresh nomination shall be made by the subscriber on his marriage and any nomination made before such marriage shall be deemed to be invalid;
6. if at the time of making a nomination the subscriber has no family, the nomination may be in favour of any person or persons but if the subscriber subsequently acquires a family, such nomination shall forthwith be deemed to be invalid and the subscriber shall make a fresh nomination in favour of one or more persons belonging to his family;
7. where the nomination is wholly or partly in favour of a minor, the subscriber may, for the purposes of this Scheme, appoint a major person of his family, to be the guardian of the minor nominee in the event of the subscriber predeceasing the nominee and the guardian so appointed;
8. where there is no major person in the family, the subscriber may, at his discretion, appoint any other person to be a guardian of the minor nominee;
9. a nomination made under the NPS may at any time be modified by a subscriber after giving a written notice of his intention of doing so in the form specified. A nomination or its modification so made shall take effect to the extent that it is valid on the date on which it is received by the intermediary under the NPS;
10. if a subscriber proves that his spouse has ceased, under the personal law governing him or her, or the customary law of the community to which the spouses belong, to be entitled to maintenance he or she shall no longer be deemed to be a part of the subscriber’s family for the purpose of this Scheme, unless the subscriber subsequently intimates by express notice in writing to the designated intermediary for the purpose that he or she shall continue to be so regarded; and
11. if a subscriber by notice in writing to the designated intermediary for the purpose expresses her desire to exclude her husband from the family, the husband and his dependent parents shall no longer be deemed to be a part of the subscriber’s family for the purpose of this Scheme, unless the subscriber subsequently cancels in writing any such notice
12. In respect of subscribers covered under sub-clause(c) of Regulation 3 and sub- clause(c) of Regulation 4, where no valid nomination exists in accordance with these regulations, at the time of exit of such subscriber on account of death, the nomination, if any existing in the records of such subscriber with his or her employer for the purpose of receiving other admissible terminal benefits shall be treated as nomination exercised for the purposes of receiving benefits under the National Pension System. The employer shall send a confirmation of such nomination in its records, to the NPS Trust or the central recordkeeping agency, while forwarding the claim for processing.

Explanation I – For the purposes of this chapter, – (a) the expression “family”,

1. in relation to a male subscriber, means his legally wedded wife, his children, whether married or unmarried, his dependent parents and his deceased son’s widow and children;
2. in relation to a female subscriber, means her legally wedded husband, her children, whether married or unmarried, her dependent parents, her husband’s dependent parents and her deceased son’s widow and children;

Explanation II — In either of the above two cases, if the child of a subscriber [or as the case may be, the child of a deceased son of the subscriber] has been adopted by another person and if, under the personal law of the adopter, adoption is legally recognized, such a child shall be considered as excluded from the family of the subscriber.

Important Note for Stake Holders: Please refer PFRDA website Link for complete information.

• PFRDA Regulations: https://www.pfrda.org.in/index1.cshtml?lsid=72
• Compendium of PFRDA Act & Regulations:
  https://www.pfrda.org.in/myauth/admin/showimg.cshtml?ID=2133

Annexure 2

Role of nodal officers (Govt / Corporate Sector), CRA, PoP & NPST

Source: PFRDA