PFRDA set to ease points of presence norms: Report

After seeking to finetune its pension fund regulations, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is geared to bring about changes to its points of presence (PoP) regulations, issued in 2018, reported Business Line.

This is part of its aim to further the ease of doing business and bring down compliance costs, leading to increased returns for National Pension System (NPS) subscribers.

Put simply, PoPs is the first point of contact for NPS account holders in the NPS architecture.

PoP facilitates registration, contribution and other transactions for NPS account holders. PoP are entities that provide the services under NPS through their network of branches called PoP service providers (PoP­SP).

Under the proposed changes to PoP regulations, PFRDA wants to simplify the eligibility criteria for registration and reduce the time taken for processing of application for registration from the current 60 to 30 days.

Also proposed a reduction in the requirement of minimum number of branches from 15 to 10 for seeking registration.

PFRDA also proposes to stipulate that PoP need to fulfil the requirement of minimum net worth criteria as on date of application, instead of the last day of the immediately preceding financial year.

The latest PFRDA proposal to amend its PoP regulations comes in the wake of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement in her budget speech this year that financial sector regulators would be requested to undertake comprehensive review of regulations to simplify, ease and reduce cost of compliance.

The proposed changes also require PoP’s audit committee/ board to appoint an external auditor to carry out the operational/process and financial audit of PoP and submit the audit report to their board and the PFRDA.

Public and stakeholder comments have now been invited by PFRDA on the draft proposals by August 5.

It may be recalled that PFRDA had set up two committees for the comprehensive review of its regulations in the wake of the Finance Minister’s announcement in her budget speech this year.