Maharashtra govt employees get pension choice: Revised NPS offers 50% of last salary with DA

The circular laid down a detailed procedure for implementing the revised NPS for employees who opt for it and clarified that the scheme will apply only to those who exercise the option within the stipulated deadline.

The government had earlier allowed eligible employees to submit their option to join the revised scheme by December 31, 2026.

The Maharashtra cabinet had previously approved implementation of a revised NPS for state government employees on the lines of the Centre’s Unified Pension Scheme (UPS).

What the revised pension scheme offers

• Employees retiring at the prescribed age with 20 years or more of service will be entitled to a pension equal to 50 per cent of their last drawn salary, along with dearness allowance.

• Employees with 10 to 20 years of service will receive a proportionate pension based on their last drawn salary.

• The minimum pension under the revised scheme has been fixed at Rs 7,500 per month for employees retiring after at least 10 years of service.

• Employees with less than 10 years of service will not be eligible for pension benefits.

• Family pension will be payable at 60 per cent of the admissible pension along with dearness relief. Corpus, annuity and withdrawal rules

The circular stated that employees opting for the revised scheme must deposit 60 per cent of the accumulated corpus received from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) with the government through the drawing and disbursing officer at the time of retirement.

The remaining 40 per cent of the accumulated corpus will be used to purchase an annuity, and the annuity amount will be adjusted against the pension payable by the state government.

The government also said that any withdrawals made earlier from the NPS corpus must be refunded with 10 per cent interest by employees opting for the revised scheme. Failing this, pension entitlement will be reduced accordingly.

Employees resigning from service will not be eligible for pension benefits under the revised scheme and will continue under the existing NPS framework.

The circular also said retirement gratuity would apply to employees opting for the revised scheme as per earlier government orders issued in March 2023.

The provisions will also apply, with suitable modifications, to employees of aided educational institutions, agricultural universities, affiliated non-government colleges, zilla parishads and panchayat samitis.

The finance department said a separate detailed procedure for pension disbursement under the revised scheme will be issued later.

Why this matters

The revised scheme is expected to benefit employees seeking predictable post-retirement income amid growing demand for guaranteed pension structures across states and central government services.