NEW DELHI | JUNE 30, 2026 – The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and the Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI) today executed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at deepening institutional collaboration in actuarial research, pension policy formulation, technical knowledge exchange and professional capacity building.

The MoU was formally signed and exchanged during the inaugural session of the two-day Joint Conference on Pensions (JCP) 2026 at the India International Centre, New Delhi. Organized around the central theme, “Sustainable Pension Systems – A Socio-Economic Imperative to Viksit Bharat,” the high-level forum has brought together senior government dignitaries, regulators, international experts, actuaries and economists to chart the future of retirement income security and pension expansion in India.

Under this strategic alliance, PFRDA and IAI will pool their respective expertise to drive research-backed policymaking, cultivate technical proficiency and spearhead product innovation. The partnership is uniquely positioned to design sustainable, long-term retirement solutions that align with India’s shifting macroeconomic and demographic landscape.

Addressing the assembly as the Chief Guest, Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor, Government of India, emphasized that building resilient pension structures today is imperative to shield a future aging population. He underscored that moving forward, the industry must solve for steady, predictable post-retirement income streams alongside asset accumulation. Dr. Nageswaran further highlighted that achieving universal pension coverage, especially within the vast informal sector, requires absolute product simplicity, robust digital delivery and the preservation of long-term public trust.

Delivering the keynote address, Shri S. Ramann, Chairperson, PFRDA, observed that while the National Pension System (NPS) has successfully established a formidable framework for retirement savings, the subsequent challenge rests on optimizing the decumulation phase. He noted that the PFRDA-IAI collaboration will foster research-led, flexible and easily understood financial instruments designed around consumer realities, ultimately encouraging consistent long-term financial security over short-term market speculation.

Ms. Preeti Chandrashekhar, President, Institute of Actuaries of India, stated that escalating life expectancies demand that retirement security be elevated to a paramount national priority. She emphasized that collaboration between regulators, actuaries, economists and technologists will help create personalized products and solutions to help enhance society’s ability to manage longevity and uncertainty challenges with confidence.

Highlighting the global perspective, Ms. Ayako Inagaki, Senior Sector Director, Asian Development Bank (ADB), remarked on India’s unparalleled potential to scale pension inclusion by leveraging its world-class digital public infrastructure. She called for deep multi-stakeholder coalitions bridging governments, tech innovators and civil society, reiterating the ADB’s continued commitment to anchoring India’s journey through technical expertise and knowledge sharing.

The inaugural day concluded with intensive technical sessions examining goal-based decumulation frameworks, longevity risks and the newly launched Retirement Income Scheme under the NPS. A dedicated panel on “Linking the Missing Middle” explored scalable, affordable and digitally-driven social security models explicitly targeted at India’s burgeoning platform and informal workforces.

The Joint Conference on Pensions 2026 will proceed tomorrow with sessions dedicated to analyzing innovation in products, distribution and technology, using AI and data analytics, for new-age retirement income solutions, Investment practices and asset mix for pension investments with long-term horizon, Global pension trends, risk-mitigation frameworks and structural policy innovations designed to fortify India’s comprehensive retirement security roadmap to establish a fully pensioned society for Viksit Bharat 2047.

The Survey flagged sluggish household spending, embattled non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), a wobbly world economy and lower tax revenue collections as the main pain points that need intensive care. It argued in favour of counter-cyclical fiscal measures to arrest the current slide, which may be seen as a nudge to the government to lower taxes to boost demand. All groups of countries have slowed down and in a globalised economy, India too has felt the effect,”, says CEA.

The Survey notes that the rise in core inflation in December suggests that demand pressure is building. It adds that growth uptick is expected in H2FY20, which makes a “case for the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to not respond to a transitory spike in CPI.”

It further sees evidence for “strong revision” of headline CPI to core inflation, and added that “green shoots are present” for growth in FY21, but improving composition, quality of government spending and crucial government steps, including infra pipeline would play a role.

The government is widely expected to relax its fiscal deficit target in the Union Budget, as the economic slowdown lowered revenue collections and the government provided a tax stimulus to spur investments. The fiscal deficit – which is the shortfall in revenue viz-a-viz expenditure – is seen slipping to 3.8 per cent of GDP in 2019-20 against a budgeted 3.3 per cent.

The Economic Survey, prepared by a team headed by the government’s Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian also said there is room for rationalising subsidies, especially that on food.
Real estate companies must cut home prices to clear their unsold inventories, according to the Economic Survey, which also said that greater home sales can clear the balance sheets of banks as well as non-banking financial companies.