PFRDA Issues Revised Naming And Display Rules For NPS Schemes Effective December 1, 2026

Key facts

• The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), in a circular dated November 2, 2026, revised the naming and display rules for National Pension System (NPS) schemes, with the changes effective from December 1, 2026.
• Under the new naming convention for Multiple Scheme Framework (MSF) schemes, names will comprise the pension fund abbreviation, the identifier 'NPS' and a unique scheme name, with 'Tier II' added at the end for Tier II schemes, while category codes A to E must not form part of the name.
• Pension funds must display the full scheme category or growth category and risk classification immediately below or alongside the scheme name in public-facing material, in a smaller font than the scheme name.
• Pension funds holding a Point of Presence (PoP) licence may display only their own schemes when a subscriber specifically chooses their platform, while other PoPs, NPS Central and Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA) platforms must display schemes of all pension funds within the subscriber-selected category.
• By December 1, 2026, pension funds, CRAs and PoPs must update scheme names, Scheme Essentials Documents, brochures, advertisements, websites, mobile applications and onboarding journeys.
• The circular makes no changes to NPS contribution limits, withdrawal rules, tax benefits or pension benefits, and does not require subscribers to switch existing investments.