Yes. NPS Tier-I subscribers can make a partial withdrawal for medical treatment or hospitalisation, but the withdrawal is subject to specific conditions.
Under the current NPS rules, medical treatment or hospitalisation can qualify when it is for you, your legally wedded spouse, your children (including legally adopted children), or your parents.
The important point is that NPS is not a general medical emergency fund. You cannot withdraw money simply because you have a medical bill. You must satisfy the NPS partial-withdrawal conditions.
How much can you withdraw for medical treatment?
For the first partial withdrawal, you can withdraw up to 25% of your own NPS contributions, excluding investment returns.
For example:
- Your own NPS contributions: ₹8 lakh
- Investment gains: ₹3 lakh
- Total corpus: ₹11 lakh
Your maximum first partial withdrawal would be:
₹8 lakh × 25% = ₹2 lakh
It would not be 25% of the ₹11 lakh total corpus.
For subsequent partial withdrawals, the 25% calculation applies to the incremental own contributions made after the previous withdrawal, excluding returns.
Whose medical expenses are covered?
Under the current All Citizen Model rules, partial withdrawal can be made for medical treatment or hospitalisation of:
- You
- Your legally wedded spouse
- Your children, including legally adopted children
- Your parents
This is broader than the older NPS rules that referred to treatment of specified critical illnesses.
That distinction matters because older articles on the internet may still list a long set of specific diseases. The current PFRDA FAQ uses the broader wording of medical treatment or hospitalisation for the specified family members.
How long must you have been invested in NPS?
You must complete three years of subscription to NPS before becoming eligible for your first partial withdrawal.
So, if you joined NPS less than three years ago, you generally cannot make a partial withdrawal for a medical expense yet.
This three-year requirement is important because a medical emergency does not automatically override the minimum subscription period.
How often can you withdraw?
For the current All Citizen Model:
| Your age | Partial withdrawals |
|---|---|
| Before 60 | Up to 4 times, with at least 4 years between withdrawals |
| After 60 | No fixed maximum until age 85, with at least 3 years between withdrawals |
These frequency rules apply to NPS partial withdrawals generally, including medical withdrawals.
Example: Using NPS for a parent’s hospitalisation
Suppose you have been an NPS subscriber for more than three years.
Your own contributions are ₹10 lakh, and your NPS account has grown to ₹14 lakh after investment returns.
Your father requires hospitalisation and you need money for the treatment.
The maximum first partial withdrawal would be:
₹10 lakh × 25% = ₹2.5 lakh
The fact that your total corpus is ₹14 lakh does not increase the 25% limit.
If you withdraw ₹2.5 lakh, your NPS account remains open and the remaining corpus stays invested.
Can you withdraw for your parents’ medical treatment?
Yes.
The current PFRDA rules specifically include parents among the family members for whose medical treatment or hospitalisation partial withdrawal can be made.
This is useful because medical expenses for parents are one of the situations where people may need access to funds before retirement.
However, don’t confuse this with an unrestricted withdrawal facility. The 25% contribution limit and other NPS conditions still apply.
Can you withdraw for routine medical expenses?
The current All Citizen Model FAQ permits partial withdrawal for medical treatment or hospitalisation of the specified persons.
Therefore, you should not rely on older information claiming that only a fixed list of critical diseases qualifies under the current All Citizen Model.
PFRDA’s current regulations were amended on 16 December 2025, and the current framework uses the broader medical-treatment/hospitalisation wording.
That makes older articles particularly risky to follow.
What if your medical expense is related to disability?
There is a separate permitted purpose for medical and incidental expenses arising from disability or incapacitation suffered by the subscriber.
So there are effectively two relevant medical categories:
- Medical treatment or hospitalisation for you or specified family members.
- Medical and incidental expenses arising from your own disability or incapacitation.
Do not treat these as two separate 25% limits. They fall within the NPS partial-withdrawal framework.
What happens if you withdraw less than your maximum?
Suppose your eligible limit is ₹2.5 lakh, but you withdraw only ₹1.5 lakh.
The unused ₹1 lakh does not simply disappear.
PFRDA states that the unused portion of the earlier eligible limit can remain available for a subsequent withdrawal, together with the permitted 25% of incremental own contributions made since the previous withdrawal.
This can matter if you don’t need the entire eligible amount for one medical expense.
Is the withdrawal taken from your entire NPS corpus?
No.
This is the calculation you need to get right:
Maximum first partial withdrawal = 25% × your own contributions
Investment returns are excluded from the calculation.
For example:
| NPS component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Your own contributions | ₹12 lakh |
| Investment returns | ₹4 lakh |
| Total corpus | ₹16 lakh |
| 25% of own contributions | ₹3 lakh |
| Maximum first partial withdrawal | ₹3 lakh |
The ₹4 lakh investment gain is not included in the 25% calculation.
Can you withdraw NPS money for any medical bill without documentation?
Don’t assume that.
The withdrawal request is made through the NPS system or the relevant Point of Presence, and the applicable process and supporting requirements need to be followed. PFRDA states that subscribers can initiate withdrawal requests through their pension account or by submitting the physical form to the service provider with the specified documents.
Keep medical records, hospital bills and other relevant documents rather than assuming that the withdrawal purpose will never need to be established.
What about NPS Tier-II?
The restrictions discussed above concern partial withdrawal from NPS Tier-I.
Tier-II is different. PFRDA states that a subscriber with a valid and active Tier-II account may withdraw the accumulated amount in full or in part at any time, subject to the account having sufficient balance for applicable charges.
Therefore, don’t apply the Tier-I medical-withdrawal rules to Tier-II.
What about NPS Vatsalya?
NPS Vatsalya has separate rules because it is designed for minors.
For NPS Vatsalya, partial withdrawal before age 18 can be made for specified purposes including treatment of specified illnesses of the minor subscriber. Up to 25% of contributions, excluding returns, can be withdrawn after three years from account opening, subject to the scheme’s conditions.
Those rules should not be confused with the regular adult NPS Tier-I rules.
Is NPS medical withdrawal the same as exiting NPS?
No.
A partial withdrawal takes out only the permitted amount while your NPS account continues.
An exit is the settlement of your NPS pension wealth under the applicable exit rules.
You should not choose an NPS exit simply because you need money for medical treatment unless you actually intend to leave NPS and meet the relevant exit conditions.
Bottom line
Yes, you can withdraw NPS money for medical treatment or hospitalisation.
Under the current All Citizen Model rules:
- You must generally complete 3 years of NPS subscription before your first partial withdrawal.
- The first withdrawal can be up to 25% of your own contributions, excluding investment returns.
- Medical treatment or hospitalisation can be for yourself, legally wedded spouse, children or parents.
- Before age 60, partial withdrawals are allowed up to four times with a four-year interval; after 60, they can be made until age 85 with a three-year interval.
- Your total NPS corpus is not the basis for the 25% calculation; the relevant own contributions are.
- The rules were updated recently, so older articles listing only specific critical illnesses may no longer accurately describe the current All Citizen Model rules.
If you’re considering a withdrawal, the first calculation to make is 25% of your eligible own contributions, not 25% of the balance shown in your NPS account.
