The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), through a circular dated 15 May 2026, launched the Retirement Income Scheme and a suite of flexible drawdown options under the National Pension System, in a major post-retirement reform that came into focus through wider media coverage on 19 May 2026. The framework permits subscribers to withdraw up to 80 per cent of the accumulated NPS corpus during the decumulation phase, sharply expanding the previous 60 per cent ceiling, with the remainder channelled into annuity or structured withdrawal products. The maximum age for continuing an NPS account has been extended from 75 years to 85 years, allowing investors to keep their pension corpus invested for longer and benefit from compounding. For subscribers whose total corpus does not exceed Rs 8 lakh, the annuity requirement has been waived entirely, allowing full lump-sum withdrawal; for corpora between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 12 lakh, up to Rs 6 lakh can be withdrawn lump sum with the rest annuitised. Two new tools, Systematic Lump Sum Withdrawal (SLW) and Systematic Unit Redemption (SUR), allow retirees to receive monthly, quarterly or annual payouts up to age 85. Tax provisions, however, still exempt only 60 per cent of the lump sum, with the additional 20 per cent unlocked by PFRDA potentially taxable until Parliament amends the Income Tax Act, an open issue that subscribers and advisors must factor into retirement planning.