evidence: The EPF is an individual account, DC scheme wherein the employee and employer each contribute to the fund at the rate of 12 percent of the employee’s pay. In 2012, the total assets under EPFO’s control was more than Rs 3 trillion (US$54.5 billion). There are a number of provisions under the scheme for preretirement withdrawal of accumulated balances. These provisions are frequently used by scheme members, which leads to reduced balances at the time of their retirement. These depleted balances lead to negligible old-age income benefits. The EPFO scheme enjoys an "EEE" (exempt, exempt, exempt) tax structure, which constitutes a major tax subsidy.8 The EPS is a DB scheme based on a contribution rate of 8.33 percent from the employee and an additional 1.16 percent from the government. The EPS was introduced in 1995 to replace the Family Pension Scheme of 1971, and is applicable to workers who entered into employment after 1995 and those who were covered under the previous scheme. [...] Introduction of the NPS for new employees of the central and state governments is a positive step for reforming the pension system in India. The road ahead has many challenges that need to be tackled for the system to spread wide enough to cover the unorganized sector, agricultural workers, temporary and casual workers, and the self-employed.