Keen to regulate private superannuation schemes, PFRDA tells Finance Ministry

The pension regulator wants a say in private superannuation schemes, and it has taken up the issue with the Finance Ministry.

“There seems to be a regulatory grey area in the administration of many private pension and superannuation funds. As the pension regulator we should look into all issues,” said a senior official with the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). “We have flagged this problem with the Department of Financial Services and it will decide on the future course of action,” he said.

Under the PFRDA Act, the pension regulator is responsible for promoting the pension industry and protecting consumers by supervising pension funds. At present, it is responsible only for regulating the National Pension System (NPS) and the Atal Pension Yojana.

However, many companies operate superannuation schemes for their workers through insurance companies or by setting up provident fund trusts.

Many of these are under the ambit of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority or the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation.

Last year, the PFRDA had also written to public sector firms and other agencies for information on existing pension and superannuation schemes being run by them and details of their regulatory jurisdiction, supervisory mechanism, investment guidelines, risk management strategies, number of subscribers and assets under management.

The issue was also part of the terms of reference of the GN Bajpai Committee that was set up last year to review investment guidelines for private sector NPS. Noting the “fragmented and heterogeneous pension sector” where SEBI, IRDA and EPFO are involved, the committee in its report earlier this year had called for a unified pension regime and unified regulations.

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