When & how to change your NPS pension fund manager

5 painless steps to ensure a larger retirement kitty. Plus: A DIY to switch your asset allocation.

Over the last few years, the National Pension System (NPS) has emerged as a popular investment option. However, it is easy for complacency to set in when it comes to investing in it. Given how highly safeguarded and secure the NPS is, most subscribers keep investing on autopilot. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, a performance review once in a while is recommended.

What if your pension fund manager is underperforming? It may be time for you to look for greener pastures. And greener pastures there are, as you can choose among seven pension-fundmanagement companies in India, namely UTI Retirement Solutions, LIC, SBI, Kotak Mahindra, HDFC, ICICI Prudential and Aditya Birla Sun Life. A word of caution though: while the government allows you to change your pension manager once a year, frequent chopping and changing can backfire. You should only look for an alternative if your investment has consistently underperformed for a considerable period of time.