Unified Pension Scheme scores over NPS; matches old one

The UPS will be an improvement over the NPS as it is protected from inflation provides a minimum assured pension for employees who have a shorter service

- DIPAK MONDAL

AFTER over a year of deliberation, the committee constituted to review the pension scheme for government employees has come up with the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), which is the middle ground between the National Pension System (NPS) and the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).We will look at every feature of the new scheme in comparison with the existing NPS and the OPS, which the government employees have been demanding for.

Features of UPS

The UPS will be an 'improvement' over the NPS as it addresses three major concerns of the government employees - a pension which is not market linked; their pension is protected from inflation; and a minimum assured pension for employees who have a shorter service. Under UPS, the government will ensure that employees receive a pension equivalent to 50% of their last drawn basic salary for a minimum qualifying service of 25 years.

For employees who have short service of a minimum 10 years, a proportionate amount will be given as pension.