What’s new in NPS: How retirement income scheme (RIS) changes NPS withdrawal rules
By Tejashree Satpute
NPS
Jun 5, 2026
Scheme E is the equity part of your NPS account. Ten pension funds run it, and you choose which one manages your money. Under active choice, you can hold up to 75% of your Tier I account in Scheme E. You can also pick a different pension fund for each asset class, so the equity choice is a separate decision from the bond choice.
This piece compares all ten on returns, size and portfolio.
Returns: all 10 funds
| Pension fund | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 7 years | 10 years | Since inception |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICICI Prudential | -2.77% | 9.17% | 9.22% | 14.21% | 12.05% | 12.05% |
| Kotak | -6.04% | 8.34% | 8.86% | 13.85% | 11.90% | 11.41% |
| UTI | -6.05% | 8.74% | 8.75% | 13.62% | 11.62% | 11.80% |
| Aditya Birla Sun Life | -2.77% | 8.02% | 8.45% | 13.22% | – | 11.63% |
| HDFC | -4.54% | 8.17% | 8.25% | 13.64% | 12.14% | 13.41% |
| LIC | -6.04% | 7.09% | 8.05% | 13.09% | 10.85% | 11.75% |
| SBI | -4.13% | 6.45% | 7.47% | 12.30% | 10.77% | 10.31% |
| Tata | -3.06% | 9.99% | – | – | – | 11.52% |
| Axis | -6.25% | 6.92% | – | – | – | 8.77% |
| DSP | -9.21% | – | – | – | – | 7.22% |
| Benchmark | -3.95% | 8.56% | 8.76% | 14.05% | 12.37% | – |
| Average of all funds | -5.09% | 8.10% | 8.44% | 13.42% | 11.55% | – |
Tier I, as on 18 September 2026. Funds sorted by 5-year return; funds without a 5-year record are at the bottom. “–” means the fund has not completed that period.
What the numbers show
Over 10 years, no fund beat the benchmark. The benchmark returned 12.37% a year. HDFC came closest at 12.14%. Over 7 years, only ICICI Prudential edged past it (14.21% against 14.05%). Scheme E portfolios are dominated by the same large banks and blue chips that make up the index, so beating it after costs is hard.
The gap between funds still adds up. Over 10 years, the best fund (HDFC, 12.14%) and the weakest (SBI, 10.77%) are 1.37 percentage points a year apart. ₹1 lakh grew to about ₹3.14 lakh with HDFC and about ₹2.78 lakh with SBI.
ICICI Prudential is the most consistent. It ranks first over 5 and 7 years and second over 3 and 10 years. No other fund stays in the top two across all four periods.
SBI trails on every long period. It ranks last over 3, 5, 7 and 10 years, yet it runs the third-largest Scheme E book.
Tata leads among the newer funds. Tata (launched 2022) has the best 3-year return of all ten, at 9.99%. Axis (also 2022) is eighth at 6.92%. DSP (December 2023) has the weakest 1-year return, at -9.21%.
The last year was negative for everyone. One-year returns ranged from -2.77% to -9.21%, against -3.95% for the benchmark. Markets fell further after 18 September. On Value Research data from mid to late October, most Scheme E funds showed one-year returns of roughly -7% to -12%.
Where the money sits
| Pension fund | Tier I assets (₹ crore) | Share |
|---|---|---|
| HDFC | 80,757 | 45.6% |
| ICICI Prudential | 31,743 | 17.9% |
| SBI | 29,060 | 16.4% |
| Axis | 7,430 | 4.2% |
| LIC | 7,418 | 4.2% |
| UTI | 5,582 | 3.1% |
| Kotak | 4,609 | 2.6% |
| Tata | 4,146 | 2.3% |
| DSP | 3,467 | 2.0% |
| Aditya Birla Sun Life | 3,068 | 1.7% |
| Total | 177,280 | 100% |
Approximate Tier I net assets, Value Research, October 2026.
HDFC manages close to half of all Scheme E Tier I money. HDFC, ICICI Prudential and SBI together hold about 80%.
How fully invested each fund is
Scheme E is meant to be an equity scheme, but managers keep some money in cash, bonds and REITs.
| Pension fund | Equity | Debt | Cash | REITs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTI | 98.48% | 0.07% | 0.85% | 0.00% |
| Kotak | 98.37% | 0.22% | 1.25% | 0.00% |
| LIC | 98.34% | 0.64% | 1.02% | 0.00% |
| SBI | 98.30% | 0.06% | 1.39% | 0.17% |
| Aditya Birla Sun Life | 97.96% | 0.21% | 0.95% | 0.89% |
| HDFC | 97.61% | 1.59% | 0.02% | 0.78% |
| Tata | 96.66% | 0.04% | 2.62% | 0.21% |
| ICICI Prudential | 93.71% | 1.44% | 3.29% | 1.55% |
| Axis | 93.09% | 3.12% | 1.69% | 0.81% |
| DSP | 89.87% | 4.80% | 2.11% | 3.22% |
Value Research, October 2026.
Most funds keep 97% to 98% in shares. Three hold noticeably less:
- DSP has 89.87% in equity, with 4.80% in debt and 3.22% in REITs.
- Axis has 93.09% in equity and 3.12% in debt.
- ICICI Prudential has 93.71% in equity and 3.29% in cash.
Cash and bonds cushion a fall but drag in a rally. Weigh them before reading a single year’s return.
The portfolios with published stock holdings look alike. LIC, Kotak and UTI all have HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries among their top five holdings, and financial stocks make up about a third of each.
How to choose your Scheme E fund
- Use the 5- and 10-year columns. A one-year lead often reverses. ICICI Prudential, HDFC, Kotak and UTI form the leading group over the long periods.
- Prefer consistency over a single top rank. A fund in the top three across 3, 5 and 7 years is a stronger signal than one first-place finish.
- Treat new funds as unproven. Tata’s 3-year number is strong, but three years is one market cycle at best.
- Ignore fees as a deciding factor. From 1 April 2026, the investment management fee is slab-based and tops out at 0.12% a year. The gap between funds is a few hundredths of a percent, small next to the return gaps above.
- Switching is allowed. You can change your pension fund once a financial year, and your asset allocation up to four times.
For fund-level detail, see the reviews of HDFC, ICICI Prudential, SBI, LIC, UTI, Kotak, Aditya Birla Sun Life, Tata, Axis and DSP. The same comparison for bonds is in Scheme C and Scheme G.
Sources: returns for Tier I as on 18 September 2026, NPS Trust data as published by HDFC Securities. Net assets and portfolios: Value Research, October 2026. Investment management fee: PFRDA, effective 1 April 2026. Past returns do not guarantee future returns.
