The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has introduced a new Retirement Income Scheme (RIS) and drawdown options under the National Pension System (NPS) to provide subscribers with enhanced flexibility in managing their pension savings after retirement. Announced in a circular dated May 15, 2026, this initiative allows subscribers to withdraw a designated portion of their pension corpus in phases during the decumulation phase. This framework aims to offer periodic payout choices while ensuring that the remaining corpus continues to generate returns through the RIS. Importantly, withdrawals made under this new framework will not impact the mandatory annuitisation requirement, which mandates that subscribers use a minimum of 20% or 40% of their corpus to purchase an annuity for a lifelong pension. Both government and non-government subscribers will benefit from these drawdown options, which include payout frequencies of monthly, quarterly, or annually, lasting up to the age of 85 or as per subscriber choice at the time of exit. The guidelines will be implemented once the necessary systems are in place, as stipulated under Section 14 of the PFRDA Act, 2013.