Jammu And Kashmir Government Permits One-Time Switch From NPS To OPS For Eligible Government Employees

The government of Jammu and Kashmir has officially sanctioned a one-time option for eligible government employees to switch from the National Pension System (NPS), which is a defined contribution scheme, to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), a defined pension scheme. The directive issued by the Finance Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, on September 28, 2026, follows formal approval from the Council of Ministers dated September 10, 2026.

Background

The NPS was initially implemented by the central government through a notification dated December 22, 2003, for employees who joined service on or after January 1, 2010, by amending the J&K Civil Service Regulations, 1956.

In March 2023, the Central Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) permitted central civil employees, whose recruitment vacancies were advertised before the NPS notification date, to switch from NPS to OPS coverage. After this, several J&K government employees submitted representations and filed petitions before the High Court and Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), asking for equivalent rights for themselves.  

In December 2024, the Ministry of Home Affairs and DoPPW clarified that state and UT service rules remain within local jurisdiction.

The DoPPW conveyed, “It is further, stated that the Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare had issued instruction vide OM No. 57/05/2021-P&PW (B) dated 03.03.2023 giving one time option to the Central Government civil employees for inclusion under OPS who has been appointed against a post or vacancy which was advertised/ notified for recruitment/ appointment prior to notification for National Pension System i.e., 22.12.2003. As stated above, the O.M is not suo moto applicable to the employees of J&K."

Following this, the J&K Finance Department held inter-departmental consultations with the General Administration Department, Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, and the ARI and Training Department, and all of them agreed to extend the policy of one-time switch back from NPS to OPS to eligible employees.

Eligibility Criteria

The option is available strictly to those employees who were appointed against vacancies advertised for recruitment before December 24, 2009, but who were covered under the NPS upon joining J&K state government service on or after January 1, 2010, when NPS was implemented in the state.

Workflow

To opt for the OPS, eligible employees must submit the specified form within three months of the order’s issuance (order dated September 28, 2026), which suggests December 28, 2026, as the deadline to exercise the one-time switch option.

Such applications should be sent through the Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO) to the Head of Department (HOD) and finally to the Administrative Department, which must scrutinise each case and issue the order within one month.

Corpus Adjustments

Once the switch is sanctioned, the employee’s NPS account will be closed on the first of the month following the order, and they will subscribe to the general provident fund (GPF). The accumulated corpus will be adjusted by crediting employees’ contribution to the individual GPF account, with recalculated interest as per GPF Rules, 1960. Government contribution will be debited from the corpus, and investment appreciation will be credited to the government.

Timelines

As per the notification, the entire exercise of closing the NPS account and starting the OPS needs to be completed within 120 days (four months).