The government has extended the last date to apply for the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). Central government employees who are currently covered under the National Pension System (NPS) can apply to become a part of UPS.
The government has extended the deadline to apply to 30 September 2025. Earlier the deadline was 31 July 2025. This means that if you are a central government employee and you want to become a part of UPS, then you can apply till 30 September.
What is Unified Pension Scheme?
The government has started the Unified Pension Scheme on the demand of employees. Currently, employees coming under the National Pension System ( NPS ) can become a part of UPS. This is voluntary. This means that employees who come under NPS can become a part of UPS if they want. But, it is not mandatory to do so. Central government employees who want to remain in NPS can do so.
What is the difference between UPS and NPS?
The central government started the NPS system for its employees from January 1, 2004. There is a big difference between NPS and UPS. NPS is a market-linked return scheme, while UPS is an assured pension scheme. In this, the employee gets pension according to his last salary. This simply means that the money of NPS is invested in shares, due to which its return can fluctuate. Because of this, there is some risk involved in it. If an employee does not want any risk in his retirement fund, then he can become a part of UPS.
Why did the government start UPS?
Lakhs of employees of the central government were unhappy with NPS. They wanted a scheme like the old pension scheme with assured returns. In view of their persistent demand, the government announced UPS last year. The pension scheme that was in force before January 1, 2004 was a fully assured pension scheme. With the introduction of UPS, the government has fulfilled the employees’ demand for an assured pension scheme.
What is the process to apply?
A person who starts working in the central government on or after April 1, 2025 can become a part of UPS. For this, he will have to apply. He can apply on the eNPS portal (https://enps.nsdl.com/eNPS/NationalPensionSystem.html). If an employee does not want to apply online, then the option to apply offline is available. For this, Form A2 will have to be used, which can be downloaded by visiting https://www.npscra.nsdl.co.in/ups.php. After that the form will have to be submitted to the nodal office.
