The central government has given another gift to lakhs of employees seeking old pension. To promote the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), the government has also announced income tax benefits similar to the National Pension System (NPS) to the employees opting for this scheme. Appropriate exercise has also been started for this.
The Finance Ministry on Friday said that the inclusion of UPS under the tax structure is another step by the government towards strengthening retirement security for central government employees through transparent, flexible and tax-efficient options. According to the ministry, the government has decided that the tax benefits available under NPS will also be applicable to UPS, as it is an option under NPS.
Benefits will be similar to NPS
These provisions ensure parity with the existing NPS structure and provide adequate tax relief and incentives to employees opting for UPS. The Finance Ministry had notified on January 24, 2025 that UPS will be implemented as an option under NPS for employees recruited in the Central Government Civil Services from April 1, 2025. Following this notification, government employees covered under NPS have also been given the option to join under UPS.
PFRDA will manage
To implement this framework, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) notified the PFRDA (Operation of Unified Pension Scheme under NPS) Rules, 2025 on March 19, 2025. UPS is applicable to those Central Government employees who are covered under NPS and opt for this option under NPS. Currently, 23 lakh Central Government employees are covered under it.
UPS was implemented last year.
The Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved the introduction of the UPS option on August 24, 2024. NPS was introduced for government employees after the closure of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) from January 2004. But this system is market-based which means there is no guaranteed pension available in this scheme. Employees oppose it and to overcome this dilemma, the Guaranteed Pension UPS has been implemented.
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