There is good news for those who invest in the National Pension System (NPS) – the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is preparing to launch the NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme within the next 60 to 70 days. This will be a bundled health insurance and pension product. According to Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) chairman S Ramann, the pension funds will tie up with the insurance companies to provide top-up health insurance.
Health cover along with pension
The scheme aims to combine pension and health coverage. NPS subscribers will have a separate pension account for medical expenses, and they will also receive top-up health insurance benefits.
“It was recently approved at the board meeting, and we should be able to roll it out in about 60 to 70 days, because it requires full integration at the back end,” Ramann said.
NPS subscribers will get top-up health insurance
Under this scheme, pension funds will partner with insurance companies to provide top-up health insurance to NPS subscribers. Aditya Birla Health Insurance will initially be the first company to join the scheme. Other insurance companies may join in the future.
Initially, it will be launched by a pension fund as a ‘proof of concept’ in collaboration with the Central Recordkeeping Agency and the Health Benefit Administrator/Third Party Administrator, the regulator had said in a January circular, he said. This will also involve the Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA) and the Health Benefit Administrator (HBA) or Third Party Administrator (TPA).
This plan will be available to all NPS subscribers. All charges and fees associated with the plan will be clearly disclosed in advance to ensure complete transparency for investors.
PFRDA launches AI-powered portal
Meanwhile, the PFRDA has launched an AI-enabled grievance redressal platform for its subscribers, making pension services more inclusive and accessible.
The ‘PFRDA Pension Sahayak’ platform integrates multiple pension service touchpoints into a unified digital ecosystem and marks a significant step towards citizen-centric governance and digital transformation in the sector, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) said in a statement. The platform supports 22 Indian languages through integration with Bhashini and enables voice-based grievance filing.
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