Not satisfied with your NPS account recordkeeper? You can change your CRA now However, it may happen that an individual is not satisfied with the current CRA. Read on to know what is the process of changing CRA from one to another
The managing authority of the National Pension System (NPS) - the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) - allows three central record-keeping agencies (CRAs) to manage an individual's NPS accounts. But an individual can open an NPS account only through one of the CRAs - CAMS, KFintech and Protean eGov Technologies (Formerly known as NSDL).The function of a CRA is to help individuals register for the NPS, issue permanent retirement account numbers (PRANs), process premature withdrawals or exits from NPS and maintain records of NPS subscribers, among others. It is possible that as a subscriber becomes unsatisfied with the services of the CRA. Can the person then switch CRAs?
"Yes," says Prasenjit Mukherjee, Senior Vice-President and Business Head, CAMS CRA. "An individual can switch from one CRA to another. The PFRDA rules allow an NPS investor to switch CRAs. This switching is called inter-CRA subscriber shifting."
Currently, CAMS does not offer this facility. However, it will be made available soon to NPS investors.
Sreekanth Nadella, MD and CEO, KFintech, says, "Any NPS subscriber (corporate subscriber or government subscriber or subscriber under the all-citizens model) can switch from one CRA to another." But the process is an offline one. This means that an individual cannot make the shift online, he says.
What is the process of switching CRAs?
It is easy. An NPS subscriber has to first visit the point-of-presence (PoP) centre of the CRA she wants to change.
There, she has to fill and submit to the officials the inter-CRA subscriber shifting (ICSS) form. Along with the form, the individual will also have to submit the following documents:
a) Copy of PRAN
b) Copy of any one proof of identity such as passport, bank passbook or statement certificate with passport attached, PAN, Aadhaar, driving licence with photograph, voter ID with photograph and residential address.
c) Also required is a copy of proof of address such as passport, bank passbook or statement certificate with photograph and residential address, Aadhaar with residential address, driving licence with photograph and residential address, voter ID with photograph and residential address, less than two-month-old bill of electricity, water, piped gas, telephone or mobile phone in the name of the subscriber, or a property, house tax receipt that is not more than a year old.
Do note that the individuals should bring the original documents and two self-attested copies of the documents for verification at the PoP centre.
Nadella says, "Once the form is submitted, it takes approximately seven working days for the process to be completed. There are no charges for shifting CRA. So an individual is not required to pay anything."
Also Read: How to open NPS account online
This story originally appeared on: India Times - Author:Faqs of Insurances
