The National Pension System (NPS) delivered impressive returns in 2025, with equity-heavy schemes generating over 10% returns, providing retirement corpus growth for millions of government employees and private sector subscribers.
## 2025 Performance Summary
NPS returns across scheme categories in 2025:
– Scheme E (Equity): 10.2%
– Scheme C (Corporate Debt): 8.5%
– Scheme G (Government Securities): 7.8%
– Default Lifecycle Fund: 9.2%
## Subscriber Growth
NPS saw significant subscriber growth during the year. Total subscribers crossed 7.5 crore with assets under management reaching Rs. 12 lakh crore.
## Government Employee Benefits
Central and state government employees saw substantial growth in their retirement corpus, with many seeing 15-20% increase in accumulated value over the year.
## Tax Benefits
NPS continues to offer attractive tax benefits including Rs. 50,000 additional deduction under Section 80CCD(1B), over and above the Section 80C limit.
## Recent Reforms
PFRDA has implemented several investor-friendly reforms including partial withdrawal norms relaxation and enhanced equity allocation limits for subscribers above 50 years.
## Comparison with EPF
While EPF offered 8.1% interest for 2024-25, NPS’s equity component delivered higher returns, though with associated market risk.
## Investment Strategy
Financial planners recommend maintaining balanced allocation between equity and debt schemes based on age and risk appetite.
