Assam Government introduces UPS for employees under NPS

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The Assam Government officially introduced the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) for state government employees currently covered under the National Pension System (NPS). The new scheme, brought into effect through a notification issued by the Finance Department, seeks to provide an assured payout and greater financial security to government employees upon retirement.

According to the notification, the UPS will come into operation from April 1, 2025, offering employees the option to shift from NPS to the UPS framework within one year of this notification. Those who do not exercise the option will continue under the existing NPS.

According to the notification, the UPS will apply to employees currently under NPS who opt for the new scheme. Employees with less than 10 years of service will not be eligible. For those superannuating after at least 10 years of service, the assured payout will commence immediately after retirement. Employees opting for voluntary retirement after 25 years of service will begin receiving payouts from their normal superannuation date.

Full assured payout will be 50 per cent of the last 12 months’ average basic pay after completing 25 years of qualifying service. For 10–25 years of service, payouts will be proportionate. A minimum guaranteed payout of Rs 10,000 per month is assured for those retiring after at least 10 years of service. Family members of deceased pensioners will receive 60 per cent of the payout as a family pension.

Dearness Relief (DR) will be applicable to both pensioners and family pensioners, similar to serving employees.

Retiring employees will receive a lump sum payment equal to 10 per cent of monthly emoluments (basic pay + DA) for every completed six-month period of qualifying service.

The corpus under the UPS option will comprise two funds: (i) (i) an individual corpus with 10 per cent of basic pay and DA and (ii) an additional contribution of an estimated additional government contribution of 8.5 per cent to be credited into a pooled corpus to ensure sustainability of the assured payouts.

Employees may choose investment options for their individual corpus, regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). The pooled corpus, built from additional government contributions, will remain under state control.

Compassionate Family Pension (CFP) and retirement/death gratuity benefits will also be extended to UPS employees, similar to NPS provisions.

Past NPS retirees can also opt for UPS and will receive arrears with interest at Public Provident Fund (PPF) rates.

The government will issue a standard operating procedure (SOP) covering aspects like withdrawals, missing contributions, treatment of suspension, and investment management. The Finance Department will retain powers to issue further clarifications and guidelines.

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