PFRDA Chairman Hemant G Contractor said that the pension fund regulator may ask fund houses and insurers to remove the word ‘retirement’ or ‘pension’ from scheme name. He was speaking on the sidelines of 18th CII Insurance Summit held in Mumbai.
He told reporters that the government has constituted a panel to see if PFRDA can regulate pension schemes offered by AMCs and life insurance companies.
Since PFRDA Act empowers the pension fund regulator to regulate all kinds of pension business in India, PFRDA has sought clarification from the government to know if it can can regulate the pension schemes offered by AMCs and life insurance companies, he said.
He further said that if this goes through, PFRDA will ask fund houses and life insurers to take approval from PFRDA to run pension schemes.
Currently, SEBI regulates pension schemes offered by AMCs. However, they are required to take CBDT’s approval to offer tax benefits to investors before launching such products. Similarly, IRDAI regulates pension schemes offered by life insurance companies.
