PPF vs NPS in India: Which Fits Your Retirement Plan?

EPF handles salaried retirement baseline — but many Indians add PPF, NPS, or both. They're not interchangeable: different lock-ins, tax rules, and return profiles.

PPF at a glance

• 15-year account, extendable in blocks of 5 years
• E-E-E: contribution, growth, maturity all tax-free
• Falls under ₹1.5 lakh 80C cap (shared with ELSS, life insurance, EPF voluntary)
• Partial withdrawal allowed from year 7
• Current-rate driven — historically ~7–8% range

NPS at a glance

• Tier 1 locked till age 60 (partial rules apply)
• Extra ₹50,000 deduction under 80CCD(1B) beyond 80C
• Employer contribution up to 10% of basic (80CCD(2)) — tax-efficient in old regime
• Market-linked returns — equity allocation option for younger investors
• 40% of corpus must buy annuity at exit; rest lump sum (tax rules evolving)

Which should you prioritise

1. Max employer EPF match first — it's forced savings with employer contribution
2. If old regime: use 80CCD(1B) for ₹50k NPS if you exhaust 80C elsewhere
3. PPF for guaranteed tax-free bucket if you want zero equity volatility
4. Equity mutual fund SIPs for growth beyond tax wrappers — in taxable accounts

Model your full retirement picture in Plynt — see corpus gap and monthly SIP needed after counting what you already have.