By Mohammad Haris,News18

Copyright news18

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has extended a one-time option for Central Government employees who joined service between April 1 and August 31, 2025, to migrate from the National Pension System (NPS) to the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS).
According to a statement by the finance ministry, these employees will now be able to exercise their option to shift to the UPS by September 30, 2025, the same cut-off date already prescribed for other eligible categories under the scheme.
“This option may be exercised on or before 30.09.2025, in alignment with the cut-off date already prescribed for other eligible categories under UPS,” the ministry said in the statement on September 16.
The UPS, which was notified by the government on January 24, 2025, is an option under the National Pension System (NPS) which provides assures pension income like old pension scheme (OPS). The scheme got implemented from April 1, 2025.
UPS has been notified as an option under the NPS. As per the regulations, eligible existing employees, past retirees, and the legally wedded spouses of deceased past retirees were given a period of three months i.e., upto June 30, 2025, to exercise their option under the scheme.
The Unified Pension Scheme was notified by the Ministry of Finance on January 24, 2025, through Notification No. F. No. FX-1/3/2024 PR. Following fresh clarifications on its implementation, the government has decided to extend the benefit to employees who joined service during this specific window but had already enrolled under NPS, according to a statement on September 16, 2025.
The Unified Pension Scheme is designed to provide greater certainty and security in post-retirement benefits compared to the market-linked NPS. At the same time, the framework retains flexibility—employees opting for UPS will still have the option to switch back to NPS later, if they wish.
The extension is being seen as a move to ensure a level playing field for all recently joined government staff. “This initiative aims to provide informed choice to Central Government employees in planning their post-retirement financial security,” PFRDA said in its release.
The final date for all eligible employees and retirees under NPS to exercise the switch remains September 30, 2025.
In June, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said all central government employees part of the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) will now be eligible for retirement and death gratuity benefits available under the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
Central government employees covered under the UPS will now be eligible for retirement and death gratuity benefits, as per the provisions of the Central Civil Services (Payment of Gratuity under National Pension System) Rules, 2021, Singh said.
The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW), under the Personnel Ministry, has issued an order on the “options to avail benefits under Old Pension Scheme on death of government servant during service or his discharge from government service on account of invalidation or disability for central government servants covered under Unified Pension Scheme”.