Retirement Adviser
PFRDA Retirement Adviser certification — NPS, pension products, retirement planning, and PFRDA regulations.
Exam Pattern & Marking
Detailed Syllabus
9 chapters · 100 total marks
| # | Chapter | Marks | Practice Qs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retirement Planning Products: National Pension System (NPS) | 20 | 100 |
| 2 | Retirement Planning Process | 15 | 75 |
| 3 | Retirement Planning Strategies | 12 | 60 |
| 4 | Evaluating Fund Performance and Fund Selection | 10 | 50 |
| 5 | Financial Markets and Investment Products | 10 | 50 |
| 6 | Regulations and Regulators | 10 | 50 |
| 7 | Special Considerations in Retirement | 10 | 50 |
| 8 | Retirement Planning Products: Other Investment Products | 8 | 40 |
| 9 | Fundamental Concepts in Retirement Planning | 5 | 25 |
| Total | 100 | 500 |
Marks per chapter reflect the official NISM syllabus weightage. Practice question counts show the bank size in our app — use them to gauge depth of preparation needed per chapter.
Key Knowledge Areas
Overview
Series XVII is the PFRDA-mandated certification for Retirement Advisers — independent professionals who advise on the National Pension System (NPS) and other retirement products. Unlike SEBI-RIAs, Retirement Advisers focus exclusively on pension and post-retirement income planning.
At a glance: 100 questions · 2 hours · 60% pass mark · 0.25 negative marking · ₹1,500 + GST.
Who should take XVII
- Aspiring PFRDA Retirement Advisers
- Financial planners specializing in retirement
- IA-licensed advisers wanting pension specialisation
- HR professionals managing corporate NPS
Key Knowledge Areas
National Pension System (NPS)
NPS is a defined-contribution, market-linked pension scheme regulated by PFRDA. Subscribers contribute, choose asset allocation, and accumulate corpus until retirement at 60.
| Tier | Features |
|---|---|
| Tier I | Mandatory pension, lock-in till 60, partial withdrawal allowed |
| Tier II | Voluntary, no lock-in, no tax benefit (most cases) |
Tax treatment of NPS
- ₹50,000 additional deduction under §80CCD(1B) — over and above ₹1.5L §80C
- Employer contribution up to 14% of basic + DA (govt) / 10% (private) deductible under §80CCD(2)
- 60% lump sum at retirement — tax-free
- 40% mandatory annuity purchase — annuity income taxable at slab
Investment choices
NPS subscribers choose among:
- Asset classes: E (equity, max 75%), C (corp debt), G (G-Sec), A (alternatives, max 5%)
- Active choice vs Auto choice (LC25, LC50, LC75 lifecycle funds)
- PFM (Pension Fund Manager) — pick from 10+ PFMs
Annuities at retirement
40% of corpus must buy annuity from PFRDA-empanelled annuity service providers (ASPs):
- Life annuity (no return of purchase price)
- Life annuity with return of purchase price
- Joint-life annuity with spouse
- Annuity for fixed period
Retirement planning framework
Standard process: identify retirement age + corpus needed → estimate inflation & expected returns → compute required monthly savings → select products → monitor.
Exam Tips
Tip 1: NPS tax benefits (§80CCD subsections) are heavily tested. Know each subsection’s deduction limit precisely.
Tip 2: Annuity types and tax treatment come up regularly. Distinguish lump-sum tax-free portion from taxable annuity income.
Tip 3: Other retirement products — EPF, PPF, SCSS, Atal Pension Yojana — appear in comparison questions. Know each.
Tip 4: PFRDA Retirement Adviser code of conduct (similar in spirit to SEBI IA) is regulatory chapter material.
Try the Free Quiz
Test your knowledge with our free Series XVII practice quiz — or get the full bank of 500+ XVII questions plus mock tests in the NISM Exam Prep app.
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