NPS e-Shramik: How gig workers can build a retirement corpus with flexible contributions

New Delhi: Platform and gig workers, unlike salaried employees in the formal sector, have no structured income or organised retirement model for social security. However, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has provided an avenue for financial security to service partners without regular employment and income.

Workers such as delivery partners can now contribute towards retirement funds without a minimum or maximum limit. The PFRDA introduced the NPS e-Shramik model in October 2025, aiming to bridge the social security gap between employees in the formal and informal sectors by providing an organised platform for gig workers.

The PFRDA has not fixed a minimum amount to be contributed, allowing the platform aggregator and the platform service provider to decide the amount. The contribution can be made solely by the platform, by the worker, or by both.

"No minimum or maximum contribution thresholds shall be applicable, in line with the existing Corporate Model. To ensure effective contributions, the Platform Aggregator/Platform Service Partners are free to fix a minimum contribution for each instance of credit into the individual pension account, for e.g., Rs 99 per month per contribution," the PFRDA mentions in its circular.

The worker may choose to build a corpus by making regular contributions depending on their income at any given point in time, until the retirement age is reached. Moreover, there is an option to shift or port the individual pension account from one platform aggregator to another and change from the Platform Service Provider Scheme offered by the pension funds to the Common Scheme.

The only limitation is that if a worker is simultaneously employed with two or more platforms, their individual pension account can be linked to a single aggregator at a time. The model provides flexibility and ease to workers in terms of contributions, employment, and accounts.

The exit and withdrawal provisions for the Platform Service Provider Scheme shall follow the All Citizen Model, as specified under the PFRDA (Exit and Withdrawals) Regulations, 2015. A non-government subscriber exiting at the normal exit point can take up to 80 per cent of the accumulated wealth as a lump sum, while the remaining 20 per cent must be used to buy an annuity if the total amount exceeds Rs 8 lakh. If the amount is Rs 8 lakh or less, the entire amount can be taken as a lump sum. In case of premature exit, the worker can take 20 per cent as a lump sum, while the remaining 80 per cent is required to be used to buy an annuity, since the scheme aims to promote long-term retirement savings. The model provides a provision for partial withdrawal for specific purposes, subject to the subscriber fulfilling the eligibility conditions.

The PFRDA provides an incentive of up to Rs 100 for each new NPS account to encourage NPS adoption among gig workers and facilitate support for the Points of Presence (PoPs), which are responsible for educating and creating awareness among Platform Service Partners while building the necessary onboarding mechanism. PoPs do not charge workers any fees during the onboarding stage.

With India's gig-work environment widening, it has become increasingly important to provide workers with a stable yet flexible avenue to build a corpus, like any salaried employee.