Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran has urged Indian households to commit a larger share of their savings to long-term pension products. He said pension and insurance assets remain a small part of household savings.

Speaking virtually at the NPS Diwas 2025-26 event on October 1, he said Indian savers have embraced market risk but not long-term commitment.

“The Indian saver has shown a willingness to accept market risk or so we would like to believe. What the saver has not yet done at scale is to commit savings for a longer tenure,” he said.

Economic Survey data shows equity and mutual funds rose from about 2 percent of annual household savings in 2011-12 to around 15 percent in 2024-25, while bank deposits fell from over 58 percent to about 35 percent.

Monthly SIP flows rose from under Rs 4,000 crore in 2016-17 to over Rs 28,000 crore in the first eight months of 2025-26, but the pension and insurance share stayed flat between 2018-19 and 2023-24.

India’s pension assets are about 17 percent of GDP, against at least 80 percent in OECD peers, he said, calling for simpler products and drawing a parallel with UPI.