New Delhi:
The Finance Ministry on Saturday notified the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) which guarantees an assured pension of fifty per cent of the common primary pay drawn over the past 12 months previous to superannuation.
The UPS can be relevant to Central Authorities workers who’re lined beneath the Nationwide Pension System and who select this selection beneath the Nationwide Pension System, based on a gazette notification issued by the Finance Ministry.
UPS or assured payout wouldn’t be out there in case of elimination or dismissal from service or resignation of the worker, as per the notification printed on Saturday.
As per the notification dated January 24, the speed of full assured payout will probably be 50 per cent of 12 month-to-month common primary pay, instantly previous to superannuation topic to a minimal qualifying service of 25 years in opposition to a market returns linked payout beneath the NPS.
The notification will give the choice to 23 lakh authorities workers to decide on between UPS and NPS, which got here into impact on January 1, 2004.
In case of a lesser qualifying service interval, the proportionate payout can be admissible, it stated, including a minimal assured payout of Rs 10,000 monthly shall be assured in case superannuation is after ten years or extra of qualifying service.
The efficient date for operationalisation of the Unified Pension Scheme can be April 1, 2025.
In circumstances of voluntary retirement after a minimal 25 years of qualifying service, assured payout will start from the date on which the worker would have superannuated, if he had continued in service, it stated.
“In case of demise of the payout holder after superannuation, household payout on the fee of 60 per cent of the payout admissible to the payout holder, instantly earlier than his demise, will probably be assured to the legally wedded partner (partner legally wedded as on the date of superannuation or on the date of voluntary retirement or retirement beneath FR 56(j), as could also be relevant,” it stated.
Dearness Aid will probably be out there on the assured payout and household payout, because the case could also be, it stated, including, the Dearness Aid will probably be labored out in the identical method as Dearness Allowance relevant to serving workers.
Dearness Aid based mostly on All India Client Worth Index for Industrial Employees (AICPI-IW) as in case of service workers.
“The prevailing Central Authorities Workers beneath Nationwide Pension System (NPS), on the efficient date of operationalisation of the UPS choice, in addition to the longer term workers of Central Authorities can select to both take the Unified Pension Scheme choice beneath the NPS or proceed with the NPS with out the Unified Pension Scheme choice,” it stated.
As soon as an worker lined beneath NPS, who’s in service on the efficient date of operationalisation of the UPS choice, workouts the UPS choice, the excellent corpus within the workers Everlasting Retirement Account Quantity can be transferred to the worker’s particular person corpus beneath the Unified Pension Scheme, it stated.
At superannuation or retirement, it stated, the qualifying service of the worker beneath the UPS choice, will probably be decided by the Head of Workplace, the place she or he is employed.
Pension Fund Regulatory and Growth Authority might situation rules for operationalising Unified Pension Scheme.
The UPS, efficient from April 1, 2025, will improve the federal government’s contribution from the present 14 per cent to 18.5 per cent.
The Union Cupboard, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 24, 2024, accepted the UPS.
Beneath the previous pension scheme (OPS), efficient earlier than January 2004, workers acquired 50 per cent of their final drawn primary pay as pension.
In contrast to the previous pension scheme, UPS is contributory in nature, whereby workers will probably be required to contribute 10 per cent of their primary wage and dearness allowance whereas the employer’s contribution (the central authorities) will probably be 18.5 per cent.
Nonetheless, the eventual payout relies upon in the marketplace returns on that corpus, principally invested in authorities debt.
Workers, beneath the OPS, weren’t required to make any contribution. They, nevertheless, contributed to the Basic Provident Fund (GPF). The gathered quantity, together with curiosity, was paid to the worker on the time of retirement.
Because the NPS was much less enticing than the OPS, a number of non-BJP-ruled states determined to return to the previous pension scheme, which provided a DA-linked profit.
This prompted the Centre to represent a committee in April 2023, beneath former Finance Secretary and now Cupboard Secretary-designate TV Somanathan to recommend enchancment within the NPS structure.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)