National Pension System or NPS, a government-sponsored retirement planning instrument, gives the investor the option to set his or her preferred allocation to different asset classes. It also gives the investor flexibility in terms of timing of contribution, choice of pension fund, and choice of allocation, according to National Securities Depository's (NSDL) website - npscra.nsdl.co.in. An NPS account can be opened by a citizen of 18-65 years of age in two modes: online and offline. The subscriber can either apply for an NPS account by visiting a Point of Presence (PoP), or do it online through the e-NPS website enps.nsdl.com/eNPS.