UPS notification released, apply from April 1, know who has to fill which form

Central government employees will be able to apply on the portal from April 1. If the employee wants to get pension under UPS, then he will have to fill the claim form to select the UPS option.

Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) was announced to provide guaranteed pension to central employees. Now it is going to start from 1 April 2025. Existing and newly recruited employees can apply to join this scheme. Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has released its notification on Thursday.

Central government employees will be able to apply on the portal from April 1. If the employee wants to get pension under UPS, then he will have to fill the claim form to select the UPS option. If they do not want to choose UPS, then they can choose the option of NPS. Under this, 23 lakh central employees will have to choose one option between UPS and NPS.

Who can apply for UPS?

• Currently employed Central Government employee i.e. a person in service as on April 1, 2025, who is already covered under NPS.
• New employees joining Central Government service on or after April 1, 2025. They have to opt for it within 30 days of joining.
• Any Central Government employee who was covered under NPS and has retired or has taken voluntary retirement.
• Legally married spouse who has retired or died before exercising the option of UPS.

How much will be the contribution in UPS?

According to the notification, the monthly contribution of UPS will be ten percent of the basic salary and dearness allowance on it, which will be deposited in the personal PRAN of the UPS customer. Also, the government will also deposit this amount in PRAN. Apart from this, the Central Government will also provide an additional contribution of an estimated 8.5% of (basic salary + dearness allowance) of all the employees opting for UPS option.

The minimum pension under UPS will be Rs 10,000 per month, which will be given by UPS on completion of minimum ten years of service.

Who has to fill which form?

1. Current employees Employees joining government service after January 1, 2004, who have opted for NPS, can choose UPS. They have to fill Form A2.
2. Newly recruited employees Employees joining service on or after April 1, 2025 can also choose this option and they have to fill Form A1.
3. Retired personnel, who have retired earlier and have opted for NPS, can also join UPS. They have to submit Form B2 along with KYC documents.
4. In case of death of the employee, the legally married spouse has to submit Form B6 along with KYC documents.
5. The provision of 25 years of service will be applicable on taking voluntary retirement (VRS). This means that such employees will have to wait till they turn 60 years old.

How to apply

The nomination and claim forms for all categories will be available online on the Protein CRA website (https://npscra.nsdl.co.in). Employees will also have the option to submit the form physically.