1.18 Lakh Central Govt Employees Opted For Unified Pension Scheme

A total of 118,195 government employees, including serving employees, new recruits and eligible past retirees, have chosen the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), as on July 19, 2026, the Union Ministry of Finance informed Lok Sabha. UPS was notified on January 24, 2025, and came into effect from April 1, 2025. It was introduced as an option under the National Pension System (NPS) for eligible central government employees, with an assured monthly payout after retirement.

UPS was also made available to past retirees who had superannuated or retired on or before March 31, 2025, while covered under the NPS, provided they had completed at least 10 years of regular service. The option was also available to the legally-wedded spouses of eligible deceased retirees.

UPS Deadline Extended

The last date for eligible employees and others to exercise the option to migrate to UPS was November 30, 2025. The deadline was extended following representations from employees and their associations.

No Review Of UPS Implementation Yet

Responding to a question in Parliament, Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government had not reviewed the implementation and performance of UPS as on August 3, 2026.

The scheme was rolled out from April 1, 2025, and, therefore, no review of its implementation and performance had been carried out so far, she said.

The ministry has also listed several changes made following representations from employees and associations.

The government has extended retirement gratuity and death gratuity benefits to central government employees covered by UPS under the Central Civil Service (Payment of Gratuity under National Pension System) Rules, 2021.

Employees who opted for UPS under the NPS were also made eligible to choose benefits under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021, or the CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 2023, if they died while in service or were discharged due to invalidation or disablement.

Tax benefits available under the NPS were also extended to employees covered by the UPS.

One-Time Switch To NPS Allowed

Central government employees who opted for UPS were also given a one-time, one-way option to switch back to the NPS.

The finance ministry has said that the UPS had been introduced as an option under NPS for central government employees covered by the pension system.

No proposal was under consideration, as on August 3, 2026, to make changes to or replace the UPS, Sitharaman further said.