Over 31,500 govt employees opt for UPS till July 20, says FM Sitharaman

As many as 31,555 central government employees have opted for the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) till July 20, and the last date to enrol under the scheme is September, Parliament was informed on Monday.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said as on July 20, 2025, at least 7,253 claims have been received and out of which 4,978 claims have been processed for payment of benefits under UPS.

From April 1, 2025, the government has introduced UPS as an option under the National Pension System (NPS) for the central government employees. UPS will provide assured payouts to the employees.

In reply to a separate question in the House, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said, "as on July 20, 2025, 31,555 employees have opted UPS".

Further, Sitharaman said based on the representations from employees and associations, the cut-off date to opt for UPS was extended for a period of three months up to September 30, 2025.

"As per eligibility criteria, there are 25,756 retired Central Government subscribers eligible to receive additional benefits under UPS," Sitharaman said.

These eligible subscribers are those central government employees who have either superannuated or deceased, or retired under Fundamental Rules 56(j), on or before 31st March 2025, after completing 10 years or more of qualifying service and were covered under NPS, the minister said.

The government has extended the benefit of 'Retirement gratuity and Death gratuity' under UPS. Further, the government employees who opt for UPS under NPS shall also be eligible for option for availing benefits under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021 or the CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 2023, in the event of death of the government servant during service or his discharge on the ground of invalidation or disablement.

The government has also extended tax benefits to UPS as are available to NPS under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

To a question on whether the government proposes to extend such benefits to other pension schemes or sectors in the near future, Sitharaman said, "UPS has been introduced as an option under National Pension System (NPS) for the employees of Central Government who are covered under the NPS. There is no proposal under consideration to extend such benefits to other pension schemes or sector.