NPS onboarding redesign, AI-powered pension advisory platform, NPS Swasthya—PFRDA Chair encourages ‘responsible’ AI use

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Chairman Sivasubramanian Ramann outlined an artificial intelligence roadmap to redesign the National Pension Scheme's onboarding process and encouraged “responsible” AI use for a pension advisory platform powered by the technology.

Speaking at an industry event this week, S Ramann said the regulator is redesigning the NPS' onboarding process by simplifying enrolment and reducing choices at the entry stage. He added that the authority is developing an AI-powered explainable pension advisory platform to provide personalised financial guidance. This Ramann added would eventually be expanded to include insurance and securities, making trusted financial advice more accessible to citizens.

He was speaking at the Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology's (SMI) two-day international conference on design-led innovation for inclusive, secure and sustainable financial systems at the MAHE Bengaluru campus.

PFRDA has slew of plans: What you need to know

• PFRDA is redesigning the onboarding process for the NPS by simplifying enrolment and reducing choices at the entry stage.
• It is developing an AI-powered explainable pension advisory platform to provide personalised financial guidance. This will eventually expand to include insurance and securities.
• According to Ramann, the authority is promoting multilingual, AI-enabled financial assistance, enabling citizens to interact with advisory systems in their preferred languages.
• He further confirmed the “upcoming” launch of NPS Swasthya, a bundled pension and health insurance product designed to strengthen citizens' financial and health security.

• Notably, NPS Swasthya seeks to combine user's dedicated health savings account with a group top-up health insurance policy arranged by pension fund managers for subscribers. The product is designed to help cover large hospitalisation expenses, particularly those arising from critical or catastrophic illnesses, while reducing insurance costs through group buying.

‘Encouraging use of explainable and responsible AI’

Highlighting the importance of responsible innovation, Raman said the PFRDA is “encouraging the use of explainable and responsible AI, ensuring that recommendations remain transparent and auditable to build public trust in digital financial services”.

“Technology must be complemented by human-centred design to make financial products simple, intuitive and accessible for all, particularly self-employed households, gig workers, street vendors and other underserved communities,” he emphasised, as per a release from the event.

Ramann also called for greater collaboration among regulators, academia, designers and startups to develop simpler, more inclusive financial products and strengthen financial inclusion across the country.

Higher NPS returns for pensioners?

Earlier in May this year, Ramann also told PTI the regulator has set up a panel to explore options for long-term addition of different asset classes to the NPS, aiming to increase returns for pensioners.

“We have to look at new assets which can provide continuous and steady growth over a long period of time without volatility... We cannot show a very high return in one year, and after that, it drops off. That volatility we need to avoid,” he stated.

Ramann said that the panel will take key learnings from global pension funds and suggest a “glide path” to ensure better returns for NPS subscribers. 

Notably, till FY26, the NPS had 2.17 crore subscribers, with a total corpus of ₹15.95 lakh crore, who are expected to benefit from the pension fund regulator's decisions. Further, the scheme is expected to see 22% growth in subscribers this year.

Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.