Unified Pension Scheme: 10 Important Points

The Ministry of Finance has announced the Unified Pension Scheme, effective from 1 April 2025, offering a new retirement plan for Central Government employees under the National Pension System (NPS). This scheme is designed to provide assured payouts and enhanced benefits for eligible employees.

Here are ten key points:

1. Unified Pension Scheme starts on 1 April 2025 for Central Government employees under NPS.
2. Eligibility: 10 years of service for active employees; 25 years of service for voluntary retirees.
3. Assured monthly payout: 50% of the average basic pay for the last 12 months, minimum ₹10,000.
4. In case of a pensioner’s death, spouse gets 60% of the assured payout.
5. Dearness Relief (DR) applies to both assured payouts and family benefits.
6. Lump sum on superannuation: 10% of monthly pay and DA for every 6 months of service.
7. Two funds: (a) Individual corpus with 10% employee and 10% government contributions, and (b) Pool corpus with 8.5% government contribution.
8. Investment: Employees can choose options for their individual corpus, while the government manages the pool corpus.
9. Employees retired before 1 April 2025 can opt in and receive arrears with interest.
10. Opting for the scheme is irrevocable, and existing NPS corpus will be transferred.