The Maharashtra government has issued a circular making its revised National Pension Scheme (NPS) optional for employees currently covered under the existing NPS. The state finance department released the circular on Wednesday, detailing the procedure for implementation and clarifying that the scheme applies only to those who opt in by the stipulated deadline.
Key Provisions of the Revised NPS
Employees retiring at the prescribed age with 20 years or more of service and opting for the revised scheme will receive a pension equal to 50% of their last drawn salary, along with dearness allowance. For those with service between 10 and 20 years, the pension will be proportionate to the length of service based on the last drawn salary. The government has set a minimum pension of Rs 7,500 per month for employees retiring after at least 10 years of service under the revised scheme. Those with less than 10 years of service are not eligible for pension benefits.
Family Pension and Corpus Requirements
The circular provides for a family pension at 60% of the admissible pension, along with dearness relief. Employees opting for the revised scheme must deposit 60% of their accumulated corpus from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) with the government at retirement. The remaining 40% will be used to purchase an annuity, and the annuity amount will be adjusted against the pension payable by the state government.
Withdrawals and Resignation
Any withdrawals made earlier from the NPS corpus must be refunded with 10% interest by employees opting for the revised scheme; otherwise, pension entitlement will be reduced accordingly. Employees who resign from service are not eligible for pension under the revised scheme and will continue under the existing NPS framework.
Additional Details
Retirement gratuity will be applicable to those opting for the revised scheme as per earlier orders from March 2023. The provisions also apply, with suitable modifications, to employees of aided educational institutions, agricultural universities, affiliated non-government colleges, and staff of zilla parishads and panchayat samitis. The finance department stated that a separate detailed procedure for pension disbursement will be released later.
The Maharashtra cabinet had approved the revised NPS a couple of years back, aligning with the Centre's Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). The deadline for eligible employees to submit their option to join the revised scheme is December 31, 2026.
