PFRDA Accessibility Standards & Guidelines 2024
Making pension services accessible—across branches, websites, apps, documents and people
Accessibility in financial services is no longer limited to providing a ramp at the entrance. For a person with a disability, accessing a pension service may involve navigating a branch, completing a form, using a website or mobile app, reading a statement, communicating with customer-service staff, or raising a grievance.
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) recognised this broader responsibility when it notified its Accessibility Standards and Guidelines for PFRDA-regulated intermediaries on 16 August 2024.The guidelines seek to ensure that persons with disabilities can access pension-related infrastructure and services equitably and without barriers, in line with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and the Harmonized Guidelines and Standards for Universal Accessibility in India, 2021.
Link to the official PFRDA Accessibility Standards and Guidelines
Who does this apply to?
The framework covers the wider PFRDA ecosystem, including:
- Central Recordkeeping Agencies (CRAs)
- Points of Presence (PoPs)
- Pension Funds
- Custodians
- NPS Trust
- Trustee Banks
- Retirement Advisers
The exact accessibility obligations will vary according to the role and functions of each intermediary. But the underlying principle is common: services offered to pension subscribers should be accessible to persons with disabilities.
What does accessibility mean under the PFRDA framework?
The guidelines take a multi-dimensional approach to accessibility.
1. Accessible physical infrastructure: For customer-facing premises, accessibility includes more than an accessible entrance. Branches and service facilities need to consider ramps, tactile guidance, accessible service counters, signage, circulation, toilets and facilities for persons with different disabilities. The objective is to enable a person with a disability to navigate and use the service facility safely and with dignity.
2. Accessible websites, apps and ICT: Digital accessibility is equally important as pension services increasingly move online. Websites, applications and ICT systems need to work effectively with assistive technologies and follow applicable accessibility standards, including GIGW and IS 17802, as referenced by the guidelines. This brings accessibility into areas such as online registration, forms, account access, service requests, authentication, navigation and customer support.
3. Accessible documents and communication: A service cannot be considered fully accessible if the website works but the form, statement or PDF downloaded from it does not.
The guidelines address accessible formats for forms, pension-related documents and communications, including provisions relating to Braille, large print, accessible electronic formats, accessible PDFs and sign-language support, as applicable.
4. People and service delivery: Accessibility also depends on the people delivering the service. The guidelines require sensitisation and training of officials so they can appropriately interact with and assist subscribers with disabilities, including persons with sensory, motor, cognitive and communication disabilities.
5. Governance and accountability: Accessibility is also expected to become part of organisational processes through measures such as an accessibility policy, grievance mechanisms, designated responsibility, periodic review and advisory participation.
This is an important shift: accessibility becomes a service and governance responsibility, rather than simply a facilities-management issue.
What does this mean for different PFRDA intermediaries?
The implications are different for different players.
- CRAs: For CRAs, the strongest focus is likely to be on digital accessibility—websites, applications, subscriber journeys, online forms, statements, notifications and other digital communications.
- Points of Presence: For PoPs, accessibility cuts across both physical and service delivery environments. Branch accessibility, service counters, signage, accessible forms and trained customer-facing staff become particularly important.
- Pension Funds: Pension Funds need to consider accessibility of their digital presence, investor/subscriber information, communications, documents and customer interfaces.
- Custodians and Trustee Banks: Depending on their customer-facing functions, these entities need to address accessibility across physical facilities, digital services, communication and support processes.
- NPS Trust and Retirement Advisers: For these stakeholders, accessibility of information, advice, communication, documents and interaction with subscribers becomes particularly important.
The key point is that there is no single accessibility checklist that will work for every PFRDA intermediary. Compliance needs to be mapped to the organisation's actual services and subscriber touchpoints.
Accessibility is a journey, not a checklist
Consider a subscriber trying to access a pension service:
Find information → Register → Complete forms → Access account → Receive documents → Seek assistance → Raise a grievance
If any critical step is inaccessible, the service can become inaccessible as a whole. This is why organisations should look at accessibility through the lens of the complete subscriber journey, rather than conducting isolated audits of a building or website.
CABE Foundation: A One-Stop Accessibility Partner for PFRDA-Regulated Entities
Meeting the PFRDA accessibility requirements can involve several specialist disciplines. A pension intermediary may need:
- A built-environment accessibility audit
- A digital accessibility audit
- Mobile application testing
- ICT accessibility assessment
- Accessible document remediation
- Accessibility training
- Staff sensitisation
- Accessibility policy support
- User testing with persons with disabilities
- Corrective-action planning
- Follow-up audits and compliance verification
Managing these activities through multiple disconnected agencies can make the process complicated.
CABE Foundation can provide an integrated accessibility support ecosystem to help PFRDA-regulated intermediaries assess, address and strengthen accessibility across their physical, digital and service environments.
Our support thus can include:
- Built Environment Accessibility Audits - Assessment of branches, offices and customer-facing facilities against applicable accessibility standards.
- Web & Mobile Accessibility Audits- Accessibility testing of websites, portals, mobile applications and digital service journeys, including assessment with assistive technologies.
- ICT & Digital Accessibility- Assessment of ICT systems and digital interfaces against applicable accessibility standards and requirements.
- Accessible Documents & Content- Assessment and support for accessible PDFs, forms, statements, reports and other subscriber-facing documents and communications.
- Training & Sensitisation- Practical accessibility and disability-sensitisation programmes for customer-service, branch, HR, IT, communications and management teams.
- Accessibility Compliance & Road mapping- Support in identifying gaps, prioritising remediation and establishing an organisation-wide accessibility roadmap and governance framework.
From Compliance to Inclusive Pension Services
The PFRDA Accessibility Guidelines represent an important step towards making India's pension ecosystem more inclusive.
For regulated entities, the opportunity is to go beyond asking:
"Are we compliant?"
and instead ask:
"Can a person with a disability independently access and use our services?"
That requires accessibility to be considered across the built environment, digital platforms, documents, communication, people and organisational processes.
CABE Foundation can support PFRDA-regulated intermediaries through this entire accessibility journey—from assessment and audits to remediation support, training and ongoing accessibility improvement.
One partner. Multiple accessibility needs. A more inclusive pension ecosystem.
Reach out to us at info@cabefoundation.com or contact us with other means.
Read the PFRDA Accessibility Guidelines embedded below
