The National Pension System (NPS) is a voluntary, long-term retirement savings scheme in India. It allows individuals to contribute regularly towards their pension, creating a pension corpus. The scheme is designed to provide financial security in retirement and offers a mix of equity, fixed deposits, liquid funds, and government funds as investment options. It is regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). The accumulated corpus can be utilized to purchase an annuity or withdrawn as a lump sum upon retirement. NPS is open to both the private and public sectors, catering to the diverse retirement needs of individuals.