Unified Pension Scheme: A Game Changer for Government Employees

The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) offers central government employees a guaranteed pension of 50% of their last 12-month average basic pay after a minimum service of 25 years. The scheme also provides minimum assured pensions and requires contributions from both employees and employers, differing from the previous pension systems.

The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) recently introduced for central government employees, ensures a guaranteed pension of 50% of their average basic pay over the last 12 months before retirement for those with a minimum qualifying service of 25 years.

The newly approved scheme by the Union Cabinet addresses employee concerns over the New Pension Scheme (NPS) and offers proportionate pensions for service periods as short as 10 years, with a minimum pension of Rs 10,000 per month.

Fulfilling long-standing employee demands, the UPS is contributory, requiring a 10% employee contribution and 18.5% from the central government, and aims to provide financial stability and robust support to 23 lakh central government employees.

(With inputs from agencies.)