Unified Pension Scheme: Centre notifies slew of rules under UPS; check details

The central government on Thursday said it has notified rules regarding service matters related to benefits under the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) in respect of its employees.

“The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare has notified in the official Gazette on the Central Civil Services (Implementation of the Unified Pension Scheme under the National Pension System) Rules, 2025 for regulating the service matters relating to benefits under the Unified Pension Scheme in respect of Central Government employees opting for UPS as an option under the NPS,” the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions said in a statement on Thursday.

The Ministry further said that the Central Civil Services (Implementation of the Unified Pension Scheme under the National Pension System) Rules, 2025 will cover various topics.

• Enrolment under Unified Pension Scheme,
• Switch facility form UPS to NPS one year before the date of retirement or 3 months before the VRS.
• Contributions by the employee and the Government
• Compensation to be paid to the Government servant in case of delay in registration and credit of contributions to the NPS Account
• Option for benefits under the CCS(Pension) Rules or UPS regulations in the event of death or disability of Government servant during service.
• – Benefits payable on retirement on superannuation, premature retirement, voluntary retirement, absorption in autonomous body or PSU, retirement on invalidation and resignation from service.
• Effect of compulsory retirement /dismissal/removal from service
• Effect of departmental/judicial proceedings pending at the time of retirement.

Hailing the announcement, All India NPS Employees Federation president Manjeet Singh Patel said that the provision of retirement after completion of 20 years regular services in place of 25 years, will be undoubtedly a historic milestone in the employees’ welfare.

“It was a much-needed amendment in UPS since the operationalisation of the new scheme,” he said.

What is UPS?

The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) is a pension scheme introduced as an option under the National Pension System (NPS) for Central Government employees.

UPS is designed to provide assured, inflation-indexed, and adequate retirement benefits, addressing concerns of longevity protection and pension predictability.

UPS operates within the existing NPS architecture regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and is applicable to both serving and retired employees under specific conditions.

The Centre had on August 24 approved the UPS scheme. It has come into effect from April 1, 2025.