3 hrs ago
NPS Swasthya May Combine Pension Savings With Health Cover
NPS Swasthya is a proposed product that connects retirement savings with health protection.
People who can join the National Pension System may be able to use it.
Part of their savings could be kept for medical bills.
The rest would continue to be invested for retirement.
The product may also provide extra health insurance called a super top-up policy.
The insurance could cover the subscriber, spouse, and two dependent children.
People would have to pay a deductible before the extra insurance applies.
The product is expected to launch in October, but the exact date has not been confirmed.
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority is expected to launch NPS Swasthya in October, though reports differ on whether the date will be 1 October or around mid-month.
The product is designed to let NPS subscribers reserve part of their retirement corpus for medical expenses while continuing to invest the remaining amount.
It is expected to include a super top-up health insurance policy, with premiums deducted from the NPS Swasthya account.
Standard family-floater coverage would include the subscriber, spouse, and up to two dependent children, but not parents.
Reported deductible and coverage options range from a ₹10,000 deductible with ₹1 lakh cover to a ₹3 lakh deductible with ₹30 lakh cover.
- Who
- The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, led by Chairman Sivasubramanian Ramann, is developing the product for eligible National Pension System subscribers.
- What
- NPS Swasthya is a proposed health-focused pension product combining a medical-expense corpus with super top-up health insurance.
- Where
- The launch update was given at an event in Mumbai.
- When
- The formal launch is expected in October; one report cited 1 October, while the PFRDA chairman indicated roughly 30 days from 10 September, or around mid-October.
- Why
- The product is intended to help subscribers set aside retirement savings for healthcare while retaining additional insurance protection.
Key facts
- Expected launch
- October; reported dates range from 1 October to around mid-October.
- Eligibility
- Any individual eligible to join the National Pension System, subject to scheme conditions.
- Insurance entry age
- 18 to 70 years.
- Renewal age
- Renewal may continue up to and including age 85, subject to policy terms and applicable rules.
- Family coverage
- Subscriber, spouse, and up to two dependent children; parents are not covered.
- Minimum initial contribution
- First-year health insurance premium and taxes, ₹200 annual maintenance charge and taxes, plus at least ₹1,000 for the investment account.
- Coverage options
- Reported combinations range from ₹10,000 deductible with ₹1 lakh cover to ₹3 lakh deductible with ₹30 lakh cover.
- Covered treatments
- Potentially includes inpatient hospitalisation, eligible day-care procedures, domiciliary hospitalisation, AYUSH treatment, prescribed modern treatments, and organ-donor medical expenses.
Quotes
Sivasubramanian Ramann
Chairman of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority
“What is important in the NPS Swasthya is my ability to pay money to the hospital directly. So, from the pension account, money will release and go directly to the hospital. Then the health benefit administrator, through the insurance company, will release the top-up insurance, which will go to the hospital”
livemint.com
“We are working on it (NPS Swasthya). The PoC worked very well… a very encouraging response that has led us to finalise the product”
livemint.com
Sources
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