The central government has once again made it clear that it is not considering restoring the old pension scheme for employees. In a written reply to a question asked in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday that there is no proposal to extend the time limit for central government employees to accept the old pension scheme (NPS to OPS) instead of the National Pension System. Let us tell you that this is a setback for employee organizations.

New Pension Scheme was launched in 2003

The New Pension Scheme for central government employees was launched in 2003. In a written reply to a question, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said that NPS is mandatory for all new recruits in the Central Government service (except the armed forces) from January 1, 2004.

He said that in pursuance of the court’s decisions, the Department of Pension and Pensioners’
Welfare had issued instructions on March 3, 2023, giving a single option to join under the Central
Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 (now 2021) to those civilian employees of the Central
Government who were appointed to the post or vacancy notified for recruitment/appointment
before the notification of NPS on December 22, 2003.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that there is no proposal to issue any further instructions regarding the order issued on March 3, 2023.

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What is the difference between Old Pension Scheme and NPS? (OPS vs NPS)
In the old pension scheme, the employee used to get a fixed amount as pension after retirement, whereas in NPS both the employee and the government contribute a fixed amount and at the time of retirement this amount increases on the basis of investment and is given to the employee.

There is a constant demand for restoring the old pension scheme

For some time now, many employee organizations have been demanding the restoration of the old pension scheme. Employees believe that in the old pension scheme they get a fixed pension which secures their life after retirement. Whereas there is a risk in investing in NPS and the amount received at the time of retirement depends on the investment.

What is the government’s argument?

The government believes that NPS is a better option as employees also contribute and get an opportunity to grow wealth through investment. Apart from this, restoring OPS will increase the financial burden on the government.