National Pension System (NPS) subscribers can now change their investment pattern sans the approval of the nodal office, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority said in a notification.

"It has been determined to allow the change in investment choice online, wherein the subscriber can submit the request directly in the Central Recordkeeping Agency login and which has to be authenticated through a one-time password received on the registered mobile or email ID," the authority said.

Earlier, subscribers required authorisation from the nodal office for processing the application to change the investment pattern. Once the subscriber opts for investment choice, the accumulated Tier I contributions shall be redeemed and reinvested in the new scheme as per defined process and within specified timelines, the notification said.

Keeping this track, all subsequent contributions will be invested as per the new investment pattern, PFRDA said. The subscribers can also revert to the default pattern of investment as per the guidelines, the pension regulator said.

Currently, PFRDA permits government subscribers to change asset allocation two times and a year and provident fund once a year. The subscribers associated with state governments and autonomous bodies of state or Centre can also exercise choice of PF and investment pattern, if the respective agencies allow them to. The cumulative corpus of various schemes under the National Pension System stood at 7.38 trilion rupees as of May 31, according to data from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority.

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