Axis Bank National Pension Scheme(NPS)

Axis Bank began its operations in 1994 as a private sector bank in India. Today, the bank stands as the third-largest private sector bank in India with more than 4500 branches spread across all major cities and towns. Axis Bank offers a range of banking solutions to its customers right from account opening to deposits, loans and investment. Individuals looking to create a retirement corpus can also choose the Axis Bank NPS scheme.

What is an NPS Scheme?

The National Pension System, also called NPS in short, is a retirement oriented saving scheme. This scheme allows investors to create a substantial retirement corpus through regular investments, market-linked returns and tax benefits. Moreover, after maturity, the NPS scheme also promises guaranteed annuity pay-outs throughout the investor’s lifetime which creates a source of income in the older age.

Axis Bank NPS

If you want to invest in the National Pension Scheme, Axis Bank allows you to do so through its branches and website. Axis Bank is an authorized Point of Presence (POP) which is registered with the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) to provide NPS investments through its establishment. You can, therefore, invest in NPS in Axis Bank. 

Eligibility for Opening Axis Bank NPS Account

If you are looking to invest in NPS in Axis Bank, here are the eligibility criteria which you should fulfil:

• You should  be aged between 18 and 70 years
• You should be a resident of India

If these criteria are fulfilled you can easily invest in NPS through Axis Bank.

How to Open an Axis Bank NPS account?

To invest in NPS, Axis Bank allows you to open an account in two ways – offline and online. The account opening process of both these ways is described below –

• Opening Offline Account 

To open an Axis Bank NPS account offline, you would have to visit the branch of the bank and submit an application for the NPS scheme. All the branches of Axis Bank act as POP-SPs (Point of Presence Service Providers). So, you can visit any of the nearest branches of the bank to open an NPS account. At the branch, you should avail of the NPS subscriber registration form and fill it up completely stating all the necessary details asked in the form. You can also download and print the registration form through this link

After the form is filled up, attach your photographs on the form and your KYC documents and submit the form to the branch office. The branch office would, then, verify the details entered in the form and if everything is correct, your NPS account would be opened. 

• Opening Online Account 

Axis Bank allows individuals to open an NPS account online through its website. The bank is tied up with Karvy Computershare Private Limited which is an entity which allows online NPS account opening.

To open the Axis Bank NPS account online, visit the website of the bank https://www.axisbank.com/ and under ‘Apply Now’ choose ‘NPS’. You would be redirected to Karvy Computershare Private Limited website wherein you would have to fill in the required details. Provide your personal details, contact information, bank details, scheme details, nominee details and other details required on the online form. Upload your KYC documents and make the NPS deposit online. Once your details are verified, the Axis Bank NPS account would be opened.

Documents Required for Axis Bank NPS

To invest in the Axis Bank NPS scheme and to open an account, either through online or offline mode, you would have to submit your KYC documents. These documents include the following –

1. Aadhaar card
2. Identity proof
3. Age proof
4. Address proof
5. Scanned copy of your signature for online mode
6. PAN Card
7. Copy of the cancelled cheque or passbook of your bank account

The NPS account would be opened only when the documents submitted are verified and found to be authentic.

Axis Bank NPS features

While opening an account of NPS in Axis Bank is simple, you should know the scheme’s features before you invest in it. So, here are some of the important features of the NPS scheme for your knowledge –

1. When you open an NPS account, there would be two account choices which you would have – Tier I and Tier II accounts. A Tier I account would be compulsory and you would have to open it to subscribe to the NPS scheme. Tier-II account is voluntary and you can open it if you want
2. Once an Axis Bank NPS account is opened, you would have to regularly invest in the scheme, every financial year, till you reach 70 years of age
3. There would be a minimum deposit required to open an account of NPS in Axis Bank. This amount would be Rs.500 for Tier I and Rs.1000 for Tier II. Once opened, you should deposit at least Rs.1000 in Tier I account and Rs.250 in Tier-II account every financial year
4. At the time of opening the NPS account, you would be given a choice of two investment modes – Active Choice and Auto Choice. Active Choice would be where you can invest in any of the available funds while Auto Choice is where your investments would be pre-determined based on your risk preference
5. There are different fund managers who manage NPS investments. So, when opening an Axis Bank NPS account, you would have to choose the desired NPS fund manager for investing your money with

Axis Bank NPS Tax Benefits

Investment into the NPS account earns you tax benefits. Investments up to Rs.1.5 lakhs are allowed as a deduction from taxable income under Section 80CCD (1). You can also invest an additional amount of Rs.50, 000 and claim an additional deduction under Section 80 CCD (1B). Partial withdrawals from the scheme, allowed after 3 years, would be completely exempted from tax.

Moreover, on the maturity of the scheme, 60% of the corpus, which you can withdraw in a lump sum, would be tax-free in your hands. You would have to pay a tax only on the annuity incomes which you receive from the scheme after maturity.

The NPS scheme, therefore, is a tax-efficient investment scheme which not only saves your taxes but also helps you plan a suitable retirement corpus for your golden years. Axis Bank allows you to open an NPS account through its branches or online portal making it easier for you to invest in the scheme.