No proposal for restoration of old pension scheme: Centre To Parliament

On Monday, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad stated that there was no proposal under consideration by the government to restore the old pension scheme for the central government employees.

The old pension plan provides employees with a defined pension. Under this provision, an employee is entitled to a pension equal to fifty percent of their last drawn salary.

Nonetheless, the pension amount is subject to contributions under the National Pension System, which came into effect in 2004.

Karad stated in a written response that the state governments of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand have informed the central government/Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) of their decision to reintroduce the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for their employees.

On November 18, 2022, the government of Punjab issued a notice regarding the implementation of the OPS for state government employees who are currently covered by the NPS.

"The governments of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand have submitted proposals to the central government/PFRDA to return the accumulated corpus of NPS subscribers to their respective state governments. "No such proposal has been received from the Punjab state government," he told Lok Sabha in a written response.

In response to the proposals of these state governments, PFRDA informed the respective states that "there is no provision under the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 2013 read along with the PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals under the National Pension System) Regulations, 2015 and other relevant Regulations" for refunding a portion of the funds that have already been deposited in the form of the government contribution and employees' contribution towards NPS, along with accruals.