PFRDA introduces NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme PoC 2

• Dushyant Sharma
• 09 Apr 2026
• 14 Views

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has launched the Second Proof of Concept (PoC) of NPS Swasthya, which is a pilot program under the Regulatory Sandbox Framework designed to integrate retirement savings with healthcare funding. The changes have come into effect from 7 April 2026. The conditions for schemes launched and currently operational under the earlier PoC continue without any amendments. 

According to the PFRDA circular dated 07.04.2026, “As part of PoC, “ICICI PF NPS Swasthya Equity Plus” scheme has been launched under the aforesaid framework and is currently in the PoC phase. Based on the experience and feedback from the ongoing PoC and subsequent consultations with stakeholders, it has been decided to permit introduction of a modified Proof of Concept (PoC 2) with certain changes in operational and product features, with a view to enable enhanced flexibility for subscribers and to test the scheme under varied scenarios.”

Revised Provisions for PoC 2

The revised provisions that are applicable for the purpose of PoC 2 are:-

(i) Health Insurance Benefit:- The health insurance benefit provided by NPS Swasthya PoC 2 shall be mandatory. It shall be subject to the rules and regulations laid down by the insurance company as well as the IRDAI. Subscribers will get full and clear information about the terms of their policy, including what it covers, what it doesn't cover, claim process and grievance redressal mechanism. The premium for such insurance top up will be deducted from the subscriber's NPS Swasthya Scheme account as a partial withdrawal.

(ii) Minimum Initial Contribution:- The least amount of money that must be paid to start onboarding is Rs. 25,000. A subscriber will become eligible for benefits under the NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme after making the contribution. 

(iii) Premature Exit:- If the inpatient medical treatment’s medical expenses in a single instance exceed the subscriber’s eligible limit for partial withdrawal, the subscriber will be allowed to undertake a premature exit of 100% lump sum, irrespective of corpus size, purely for meeting such medical expenses. The proceeds from such premature exits will be provided directly to the concerned Health Benefit Administrator (HBA)/Third Party Administrator (TPA)/Health Tech Company (HTC) based on the valid claim and corresponding invoice. After settling the medical expenses, if there is any excess amount, the same shall be transferred to the Common Scheme Account of the subscriber. 

All other provisions of the circular dated 27.01.2026 shall remain unchanged for PoC2, according to PFRDA. Accordingly, the Pension Funds may launch NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme PoC 2 with the Authority's prior approval, in partnership with one Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA) and one Health Benefit Administrator/Third Party Administrator/Health Tech Company, for a limited period of time and with restricted enrollment of subscribers, using the Regulatory Sandbox method.