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NPS Rules Relaxed: Lower Annuity Requirement, No Lock-In For Non-Govt Subscribers, Greater Flexibility
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Key changes in NPS has been notified as part of the PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals under the National Pension System) Amendment Regulations, 2025. Know key updates:
Important Updates for NPS Subscribers.
NPS Updates December 2025: The government has eased several rules under the National Pension System (NPS), offering subscribers more flexibility at the time of exit and during the accumulation phase. The changes are aimed at improving returns, enhancing liquidity, and making the pension system more attractive, especially for non-government employees. Here are the key changes notified on December 16 as part of the PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals under the National Pension System) Amendment Regulations, 2025:
Lower annuity requirement at exit: From 40% to 20%
One of the most significant changes is related to the mandatory purchase of annuity at retirement. Earlier, NPS subscribers were required to use at least 40 per cent of their accumulated corpus to buy an annuity, which provides a regular pension after retirement.
Under the revised rules, this requirement has been reduced to 20 per cent. This means subscribers can now withdraw 80% of their retirement savings as a lump sum, giving them greater control over how they deploy their funds post-retirement.
However, the annuity rules are not absolute. They also depend upon the corpus size:
Under the revised norms, subscribers whose total accumulated NPS corpus is up to Rs 8 lakh can withdraw the entire amount as a lump sum, with no mandatory annuity purchase.
For those with a corpus exceeding Rs 8 lakh but not more than Rs 12 lakh, the rules allow an upfront lump-sum withdrawal of up to Rs 6 lakh. The balance amount must be utilised to purchase an annuity, with a minimum annuity tenure of six years.
Further, a normal exit is now permitted after completion of 15 years of NPS subscription or on attaining 60 years of age, superannuation, or retirement—whichever occurs earlier. This provides greater flexibility to subscribers in planning their retirement and post-retirement cash flows.
Subscribers can stay invested till 85 years
The updated framework also significantly extends the investment horizon. Subscribers can now remain invested in NPS until the age of 85 or unless they opt for an early exit, compared to the earlier exit age of 75. This extension enables retirees to keep their money invested in market-linked instruments for a longer period, potentially improving long-term returns.
This move is particularly beneficial for individuals who do not require immediate access to their retirement corpus and want to continue benefiting from market growth.
No lock-in for non-government NPS subscribers
The updated framework also removes the five-year lock-in requirement for non-government NPS subscribers. This gives private-sector employees, self-employed individuals and other voluntary subscribers greater flexibility in managing their investments and exits, making NPS more comparable with other long-term retirement products.
Five-year lock-in for government employees
For government employees under NPS, however, a five-year lock-in period will apply. This distinction has been maintained, given the structured nature of government service and pension planning. A normal exit is permitted upon attaining 60 years of age.
At the time of exit, 100 per cent of the corpus can be withdrawn as a lump sum if the accumulated amount is up to Rs 5 lakh. However, if the corpus exceeds Rs 5 lakh, at least 40 per cent must be used to purchase an annuity, while the remaining amount can be withdrawn upfront.
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. December 16, 2025, 20:36 IST
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After the drop in gold price, Bitcoin price also fell.
Bitcoin fell below $77,000 in the global market, Bitcoin price fell by more than 13% in a week.
Bitcoin’s highest price in 6 months fell below $126,000, Bitcoin price has dropped by more than $49,000.
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The BSE Sensex is trading higher by 371 points, or 0.47%, at 81,090.24, while the NSE Nifty rises by 70 points to trade above 24,850 at 24,889.25.
Stock Market Today.
Market Updates Today: A day after the market crash following the Budget’s provision to hike Securities Transaction Tax (STT), the domestic equity market on Monday saw heightened volatility. After opening nearly flat, the NSE Nifty rose to the day’s high, then touched the day’s low before sharply recovering to trade at the day’s high of 25,093.
As of 3:16 pm, the BSE Sensex surged by 932 points, or up 1.13%, to 81,641.87 in the afternoon trade and the NSE Nifty rose by 267 points, or up 1.07%, to trade above 25,000 at 25,093.27. After opening nearly flat, the NSE Nifty rose to the day’s high, then touched the day’s low before sharply recovering to trade at the day’s high of 25,093.27.
Among the 30 Sensex shares, 25 stocks were trading in the green. Among the top gainers were PowerGrid, Adani Ports, BEL, Reliance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, and IndiGo, rising by up to 7.91%. The laggards were Axis Bank, Infosys, Titan, TCS, and Trent, falling by up to 1.97%.
After opening nearly flat, at around 9:30 am, the BSE Sensex jumped by 350 points to 81,112.03 in the opening trade, while the NSE Nifty rose 91 points to trade above the 24,900 level at 24,910.85. However, the benchmarks gave up all gains and declined to day’s low amid heavy volatility.
Aakash Shah, technical research analyst at Choice Equity Broking Private Ltd, said, “Near-term sentiment remains cautious despite some support from domestic technical indicators. The broader market direction will largely be influenced by global equity cues, crude oil price movements, and institutional fund flows.”
On Sunday, the Nifty saw an aggressive sell-off after the Budget 2026 announcement to hike STT, plunging nearly 870 points from 25,440 to an intraday low of 24,571, before staging a partial recovery to close at 24,825.
“A strong bearish candle was formed, with the index closing decisively below the 200-day EMA, indicating a deterioration in trend strength. Immediate resistance is placed at 24,950–25,000, while key support lies in the 24,650-24,700 zone. The RSI slipped to 31, reflecting oversold conditions, while India VIX surged 10.73% to 15.09, highlighting elevated market volatility,” Shah said.
On Sunday, February 1, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 588 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also remained net sellers, offloading shares worth Rs 682 crore, adding to the pressure on the market.
V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, said, “Yesterday’s market selloff resulting in 495 point crash in Nifty was a knee-jerk reaction to the sharp increase in STT on F&O trades. This was not a revenue-raising measure, but a decision to discourage retail traders from complex F&O trading, in which 92% of them were losing money. This decision is in the interest of retail investors. But this decision impacted the market sentiments, which were already impacted by the decision to make no changes in the LTCGs tax, which a section of the market was expecting rather unrealistically.”
It is important to understand that the Budget is a growth-oriented Budget with fiscal prudence. The 10% nominal GDP growth projected in the Budget is achievable and has the potential to deliver around 15% earnings growth in FY27. The market will soon start discounting this positive. But it is possible that FIIs may continue to sell impacting the market. Retail investors should keep their cool and remain invested and continue to invest systematically. A significant upturn in the market may take time; perhaps a retreat from AI trade globally. We don’t know when this will happen. But we know that an earnings rebound is imminent in response to this growth oriented Budget. That is a clear positive, he added.
February 02, 2026, 09:34 IST
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Gold and silver prices have continued to drop sharply in a “brutal” sell-off after hitting record highs in recent weeks.
The precious metals began falling on Friday in response to US President Donald Trump’s nomination for the incoming chairman of the Federal Reserve.
His choice for former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to replace current chairman Jerome Powell when his term ends in May soothed some investor nerves, which boosted the US dollar but saw appetite for safe-haven investments gold and silver slump in response.
Gold and silver suffered their worst trading days for decades on Friday and were down heavily again on Monday, with spot prices off by another 7% and 11% respectively at one stage.
Silver had plunged by nearly 30% on Friday and gold dropped over 9% in its worst one-day drop since 1983.
Gold and silver had been enjoying a record breaking rally as investors sought refuge amid global geopolitical uncertainty, conflict and tariff woes.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said: “The sell-off has been far more brutal than I, and many, expected.”
He added: “For silver, the rally on the way up was faster than gold’s, so the correction on the way down is faster too.”
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, added: “If the sell off continues, then gold and silver are at risk of eroding their losses for the year so far.
“The historic move lower in silver prices has not stemmed a fall at the start of this week.
“Traders have not yet found a level that they are happy to buy the dips, and the timing of Chinese Lunar New Year in mid-February could accelerate the sell off, as Chinese traders reduce risk ahead of the holiday.”
UK and US stock markets are expected to open in the red on Monday, as the gold and silver rout has a knock on effect on mining giants, while Brent oil was also 5% lower.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Mining stocks are likely to feel the heat as metal prices scramble to find a floor.
“Oil prices are also trending the wrong way for investors in commodity-focused companies.”
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