New Delhi: India's push to build early retirement savings is seeing a slow start, with enrolments under the NPS Vatsalya—which allows parents and guardians to open pension accounts for children below 18—stuck at about 2.25 lakh since its September 2024 launch, three people in the know said. The muted uptake for National Pension System (NPS) minor accounts has prompted the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) to step up efforts to boost coverage.

The scheme is implemented through points of presence (PoPs), which include the bank branches and non-bank entities, under the regulation of the PFRDA. An NPS-Vatsalya account can also be opened through the online platform of the NPS Trust.

Of the total, 79,649 accounts were under scheduled commercial banks, with public sector lenders dominating the sign-ups at 68,042 accounts.

The data for scheduled commercial banks reviewed by Mint showed State Bank of India bringing in the highest enrolments at 22,646, followed by Bank of India with 12,150, and Union Bank of India with 7,945 accounts under the scheme.

For other public sector lenders, the enrollment data was as follows: 6,783 for Bank of Baroda; Canara Bank at 5,472; Indian Overseas Bank at 5,021 accounts; Central Bank of India at 2,569; Bank of Maharashtra at 2,000, and Punjab National Bank at 1,520 accounts.

Top private sector banks saw weaker traction. ICICI Bank recorded 4,023 enrolments; HDFC Bank 2,836; and Axis Bank 2,433. IDBI Bank brough in 2,266 enrolments under the scheme.

India's pension assets under the NPS are at over ₹12 trillion, according to the Economic Survey for FY25. The NPS assets account for about 4.5% of the country's GDP, far below the global standards.

In a bid to accelerate enrolments under the minor accounts scheme in FY27, the PFRDA has drawn up a mission-mode strategy, said the first person aware of the development. A dedicated campaign will run first from 1 May till 30 June, and then from 1 August to 30 September 30, culminating in NPS Diwas in October.

“Banks have been advised to prioritize mobilization and align efforts with the government’s broader vision of building a pensioned society under Viksit Bharat 2047,” said the second person cited above, who also did not want to be named.

“The focus is on accelerating enrolments through awareness, simplification of processes and deeper engagement at the branch level,” said the third person.

Queries on the NPS Vatsalya enrolments emailed to the finance ministry, and major banks including SBI, Bank of India, Union Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank on Monday evening remained unanswered until press time.

NPS Vatsalya corpus can be invested across equity, corporate bonds and government securities, offering market-linked returns over a long investment horizon. The scheme has a low entry barrier with minimal annual contribution requirements and no upper limit.

The accounts are managed by parents or guardians of the accountholders and they seamlessly transition into a regular NPS account when the child turns 18. Partial withdrawals of up to 25% are permitted under specified conditions, and tax benefits are available under Section 80CCD, including an additional Rs50,000 deduction under 80CCD (1B).

In an emailed reply to Mint's queries, the PFRDA said it works closely with the PoPs to boost awareness, accessibility and to encourage wider participation. “Regular assessments are undertaken to evaluate enrolment trends, outreach effectiveness, and regional penetration. Based on these reviews, targeted enrolment goals are assigned to PoPs to drive sustained growth and ensure wider coverage of the scheme,” it said.

The regulator said pension funds (PFs) also actively contribute through campaigns, investor education initiatives and stakeholder engagement activities. “A collaborative approach is adopted wherein customised strategies are developed with key stakeholders, including PoPs and PFs, to maximise outreach,” the PFRDA said.

Why is the adoption weak

India’s low pension penetration is attributed to its huge informal sector, limited financial awareness, and reliance on family support or small savings schemes.

Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, said pension penetration has not picked up largely due to lack of awareness. Individuals often open accounts as part of company rules, but when it comes to children, their knowledge is limited, he said. "Also, the culture of making savings for children to create corpus is not that common. And, at times, parents may not like to have multiple accounts in the same family; they could go for diversification to bank deposits or small savings, the economist said.

Some experts said the scheme's weak adoption is due to early-stage challenges. “While enrolments under the NPS Vatsalya scheme remain modest, this reflects early-stage adoption challenges, such as limited awareness among parents, procedural unfamiliarity, and slower onboarding by private banks," said Rahul Singh, an associate professor of organizational behaviour and human resources at OP Jindal Global University in NCR.

With the government's policy vision being structurally sound and forward-looking, these enrolments are likely to scale up in the coming years amid deepening financial literacy and widening distribution networks, Singh said.

New Delhi: India's push to build early retirement savings is seeing a slow start, with enrolments under the NPS Vatsalya—which allows parents and guardians to open pension accounts for children below 18—stuck at about 2.25 lakh since its September 2024 launch, three people in the know said. The muted uptake for National Pension System (NPS) minor accounts has prompted the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) to step up efforts to boost coverage.

The scheme is implemented through points of presence (PoPs), which include the bank branches and non-bank entities, under the regulation of the PFRDA. An NPS-Vatsalya account can also be opened through the online platform of the NPS Trust.

Of the total, 79,649 accounts were under scheduled commercial banks, with public sector lenders dominating the sign-ups at 68,042 accounts.

The data for scheduled commercial banks reviewed by Mint showed State Bank of India bringing in the highest enrolments at 22,646, followed by Bank of India with 12,150, and Union Bank of India with 7,945 accounts under the scheme.

For other public sector lenders, the enrollment data was as follows: 6,783 for Bank of Baroda; Canara Bank at 5,472; Indian Overseas Bank at 5,021 accounts; Central Bank of India at 2,569; Bank of Maharashtra at 2,000, and Punjab National Bank at 1,520 accounts.

Top private sector banks saw weaker traction. ICICI Bank recorded 4,023 enrolments; HDFC Bank 2,836; and Axis Bank 2,433. IDBI Bank brough in 2,266 enrolments under the scheme.

India's pension assets under the NPS are at over ₹12 trillion, according to the Economic Survey for FY25. The NPS assets account for about 4.5% of the country's GDP, far below the global standards.

In a bid to accelerate enrolments under the minor accounts scheme in FY27, the PFRDA has drawn up a mission-mode strategy, said the first person aware of the development. A dedicated campaign will run first from 1 May till 30 June, and then from 1 August to 30 September 30, culminating in NPS Diwas in October.

“Banks have been advised to prioritize mobilization and align efforts with the government’s broader vision of building a pensioned society under Viksit Bharat 2047,” said the second person cited above, who also did not want to be named.

“The focus is on accelerating enrolments through awareness, simplification of processes and deeper engagement at the branch level,” said the third person.

Queries on the NPS Vatsalya enrolments emailed to the finance ministry, and major banks including SBI, Bank of India, Union Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank on Monday evening remained unanswered until press time.

NPS Vatsalya corpus can be invested across equity, corporate bonds and government securities, offering market-linked returns over a long investment horizon. The scheme has a low entry barrier with minimal annual contribution requirements and no upper limit.

The accounts are managed by parents or guardians of the accountholders and they seamlessly transition into a regular NPS account when the child turns 18. Partial withdrawals of up to 25% are permitted under specified conditions, and tax benefits are available under Section 80CCD, including an additional Rs50,000 deduction under 80CCD (1B).

In an emailed reply to Mint's queries, the PFRDA said it works closely with the PoPs to boost awareness, accessibility and to encourage wider participation. “Regular assessments are undertaken to evaluate enrolment trends, outreach effectiveness, and regional penetration. Based on these reviews, targeted enrolment goals are assigned to PoPs to drive sustained growth and ensure wider coverage of the scheme,” it said.

The regulator said pension funds (PFs) also actively contribute through campaigns, investor education initiatives and stakeholder engagement activities. “A collaborative approach is adopted wherein customised strategies are developed with key stakeholders, including PoPs and PFs, to maximise outreach,” the PFRDA said.

Why is the adoption weak

India’s low pension penetration is attributed to its huge informal sector, limited financial awareness, and reliance on family support or small savings schemes.

Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, said pension penetration has not picked up largely due to lack of awareness. Individuals often open accounts as part of company rules, but when it comes to children, their knowledge is limited, he said. "Also, the culture of making savings for children to create corpus is not that common. And, at times, parents may not like to have multiple accounts in the same family; they could go for diversification to bank deposits or small savings, the economist said.

Some experts said the scheme's weak adoption is due to early-stage challenges. “While enrolments under the NPS Vatsalya scheme remain modest, this reflects early-stage adoption challenges, such as limited awareness among parents, procedural unfamiliarity, and slower onboarding by private banks," said Rahul Singh, an associate professor of organizational behaviour and human resources at OP Jindal Global University in NCR.

With the government's policy vision being structurally sound and forward-looking, these enrolments are likely to scale up in the coming years amid deepening financial literacy and widening distribution networks, Singh said.