NPS 2024: UTI Retirement Fund, Tata Pension among top performing NPS schemes; check full list

The National Pension System (NPS) is a government-backed contributory pension plan open to all citizens between the ages of 18 and 70. The scheme aims to help investors build a corpus fund for retirement through regular investments.

The scheme has two types of accounts: Tier I and Tier II. While the Tier 1 account has a lock-in period of 15 years, the Tier II account is like a savings account. The investments in Tier-I accounts offer additional tax benefits of up to ₹50,000 per year, apart from the overall ₹1.5 lakh limit under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

NPS subscribers can choose from auto and active investment options. The scheme also allows investors to allocate their money to different funds. Under the active investment option, subscribers can choose funds and a percentage of contributions to allocate to the selected funds. On the other hand, the auto choice allocates investments to different assets as per the risk profile and age of the investor.

The NPS scheme allows investors to choose funds that invest in different asset classes, such as equity (E), debt (C), and government bonds (G). The funds are categorized as E, C, and G according to their asset classes.

UTI Retirement Fund

The UTI Retirement NPS Scheme has given returns of 43.35% over the last one year. UTI Retirement Solutions—Scheme E—TIER I mostly invests in equity. This has by far been the best performing NPS fund in 2024. The total AUM of the fund as of July 31, 2024, stood at ₹4649.44 crore.

Tata Pension Fund

The Tata Pension Fund in 2024 comes next in line in terms of returns. The fund offered returns of 40.66% in the last one year, according to the NPS website. This scheme also predominantly invests in equity, ensuring higher returns for its subscribers compared to traditional savings instruments. Tata Pension Fund AUM stands at ₹3115 crore as of August 2024.

ICICI Pru Pension Fund

The ICICI Pru Pension Fund has returned 39.49% in the last one year. The scheme invests more than 97% of funds in equity while allocating more than 2% to cash and cash equivalents.

Max Life Pension Fund

Max Life Pension fund gave 38.19% returns over the last one year, making it the fourth most well-performing pension fund in 2024. This pension fund also invests predominantly in equity. Max Life Insurance has crossed the ₹1.5 lakh crore mark in assets under management (AUM) as of March 31, 2024, as per its website.

Axis Pension Fund

The fifth fund on this list is the Axis Pension Fund, which has returned 37.61% in the last year. The fund primarily invests in equity, with more than 96% of funds allocated to equities and related products.

The NPS scheme, initially launched for government employees in 2024, was made available for all citizens in 2009. If you are looking for a retirement investment with higher returns compared to traditional savings instruments, the government-managed scheme could be a suitable option.