UPS Voluntary Retirement Guidelines: The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) has released a detailed note to explain how voluntary retirement will work under the new Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). This new rule is for central government civil employees who are currently under the National Pension System (NPS). The government said that it aima to make the pension process smoother for workers before the last date to choose the new scheme, which is November 30, 2025.
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The government recently announced the Central Civil Services (Implementation of Unified Pension Scheme under the National Pension System) Rules, 2025. These rules will cover all civil employees under the UPS. The new scheme started on April 1, 2025 and is expected to include around 23 lakh central government civil employees who were earlier part of the NPS. The UPS does not include other types of government workers or those outside the NPS system.
Under the new system, employees can take voluntary retirement after working for 20 years, but they must give a three-month notice in writing. The DoPPW said in its Office Memorandum, “Rule 13 provides that any subscriber who has completed twenty years of regular service may, by giving notice of not less than three months in writing to the appointing authority, retire from the service.”
The rule also says that the appointing authority has to accept the notice before the retirement becomes final. If the authority does not say no before the end of the notice period then the retirement will automatically take effect when the notice period ends.
The DoPPW also said that an employee can ask to shorten the three-month notice period if there are valid reasons. The note explains that “a government servant may make a written request for curtailing the three-month notice period, citing valid reasons.” The appointing authority can agree to this only if it does not cause any trouble to the administration.
Once an employee sends a notice for voluntary retirement, it cannot be taken back unless the appointing authority allows it. The request to cancel the retirement notice must be sent at least 15 days before the date of retirement.
The DoPPW clarified that these rules do not apply to people who retire under special voluntary retirement plans for surplus staff or those leaving for jobs in public sector undertakings or autonomous bodies.
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The DoPPW explained how benefits will be calculated for people retiring under the UPS. If someone retires before finishing 25 years of service, they will get a smaller pension based on the number of years they worked.
The department said, under the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) rules, such employees will receive a “pro-rata assured payout.” Those who complete 25 years or more will get the full assured pension as per the Operationalisation of UPS under NPS Regulations, 2025.
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