8th Pay Commission: EPF-like interest rate for GPF till NPS, UPS rollback proposed by Staff Side

In their memorandum to the 8th CPC, the Staff Side said, "The Central Government Employees governed under NPS /UPS may be given an option to enroll in GPF scheme till the Government withdraws NPS/UPS."

The staff side also proposed increasing the deposit-linked insurance scheme in the GPF.

"The deposit link insurance scheme in the GPF should be enhanced to ₹10,00,000/-. The GPF Interest rate may be at par with EPF," the Staff Side said.

NPS, UPS withdrawal demand

The Staff Side has proposed the withdrawal of the contributory National Pension System (NPS) and the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) and the restoration of the Defined and Non-Contributory Pension Scheme.

The Staff Said that replacing the defined contribution pension system with the undefined one is "an illegal step."

"The Government decision to replace the Defined and Non-Contributory Pension Scheme by NPS to those employees who joined Central Government service on or after 01.01.2004 is not only going backwards but an illegal step in the light of the Supreme Court ruling that the Pension is as good as right to property and is enforceable.," they said.

The Staff Side further said that "the NPS has already made social security in old age uncertain and dependent on Market forces. The scheme has been compulsorily imposed on a section of the Central Government Employees and it is discriminatory."

According to the Staff Side, there aren't many takers for the UPS. "The subsequent UPS introduced by the Government wef.01.04.2025 was also rejected by the Central Government Employees. Out of more than 26 Lakhs NPS employees, only 1.22 Lakhs (around 4.5%) migrated to UPS."

"Therefore, there is no justification in continuing with NPS / UPS and we propose that NPS/ UPS may not be made applicable to the Central Government Employees and all those who have been covered under NPS / UPS may be reverted back to Defined and Non -Contributory Statutory Pension Scheme (OPS) under the CCS Pension Rules 1972 (now 2021)," they added.