New Delhi, Oct. 27 -- India's retirement landscape is abuzz with a series of new developments. Several recent announcements concerning the national pension system (NPS) and the employee provident fund (EPF) promise to make retirement products less rigid.

A new Multiple Scheme Framework (MSF) has been introduced under the National Pension System (NPS), allowing pension fund managers (PFMs) to design and offer more than one scheme across asset classes. Previously, each PFM could offer only a single common scheme per asset class. Under the MSF, non-government subscribers will have a wider choice, including high-risk options that can allocate up to 100% of assets to equity, a significant shift from the earlier 75% cap. The framework also per...