UPS calculator: Know pension on ₹30,000 Basic Salary + 4% DA and how it compares with NPS

UPS aims to cater to those employees who would like to have assured pension and lump sum payout on retirement.

The UPS calculator provides pension estimates to the subscribers under both NPS and UPS. It can be used by interested Central Government employees to make informed choices while choosing the right pension plan.

For the benefit of readers, we have tried to use the UPS calculator with certain assumptions. Let's see what the calculator shows.

• Employee's age: 35
• Date of joining: May 20, 2025. He has 33 years of qualified service.
• Retirement age: 60
• Monthly Basic pay today: ₹30,000
• Existing NPS Tier 1 corpus: ₹12 lakh
• Annual Basic pay growth rate: 3%
• Annual Dearness Allowance (DA) growth rate: 4%
• Expected return on investment: 8%, 10%, and 12% (different scenarios explained below).
• Final Lump sum withdrawal percentage: 60%
• Annuity rate after retirement: 6%
• Life expectancy: 80 years
• Surviving spouse's life expectancy: 85 years

What the UPS calculator says

The UPS calculator shows that the employee will be eligible for a monthly payout of ₹37,626+DR on superannuation after retirement. He will also be eligible for a final withdrawal payout of ₹1,46,48,458 on superannuation.

Under NPS, the monthly pension will be ₹55,295 while the final withdrawal payout at superannuation will be ₹1,65,88,637.

However, the aggregate expected benefit from UPS will be higher than NPS. Under UPS, the aggregate expected benefits to be received by the subscriber will be ₹ 3,33,99,473 while under NPS, it will be ₹3,31,77,273.

The UPS calculator shows that the employee will be eligible for a monthly payout of ₹37,626+DR on superannuation after retirement. He will also be eligible for a final withdrawal payout of ₹2,03,08,362 on superannuation.

Under NPS, the monthly pension will be ₹76,011 while the final withdrawal payout at superannuation will be ₹2,28,03,305.

However, the aggregate expected benefit from UPS will be lower than NPS. Under UPS, the aggregate expected benefits to be received by the subscriber will be approx ₹3.9 crore, while under NPS, it will be over ₹4.5 crore.

The UPS calculator shows that the employee will be eligible for a monthly payout of ₹37,626+DR on superannuation after retirement. He will also be eligible for a final withdrawal payout of ₹2,85,37,899 on superannuation.

Under NPS, the monthly pension will be ₹1,05,951 while the final withdrawal payout at superannuation will be ₹3,17,85,277.

However, the aggregate expected benefit from UPS will be much lower than NPS. Under UPS, the aggregate expected benefits to be received by the subscriber will be approximately ₹4.7 crore, while under NPS, it will be over ₹6.3 crore.

Thus, the UPS calculator shows that NPS will be better if the expected return is high. However, the above calculation is just for illustration purposes.