No proposal to restore old pension scheme: Centre

There was no proposal under consideration of the central government for restoration of the old pension scheme, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad informed Parliament on Monday.

Under the old pension scheme, employees get a defined pension. Under this, an employee is entitled to a 50 per cent amount of the last drawn salary as pension. However, the pension amount is contributory under the National Pension System, which is in effect from 2004.

There was no proposal under consideration of the central government for restoration of the old pension scheme, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad informed Parliament on Monday.

Under the old pension scheme, employees get a defined pension. Under this, an employee is entitled to a 50 per cent amount of the last drawn salary as pension. However, the pension amount is contributory under the National Pension System, which is in effect from 2004.

In a written reply,  Karad said, the state governments of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand have informed the central government/Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) about their decision to restart Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for their employees.

The government of Punjab on November 18, 2022 has issued a notification regarding implementation of the OPS for the state government employees who are presently being covered under the NPS.

“The state governments of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, have sent proposals to the central government/PFRDA to return the accumulated corpus of subscribers under NPS to respective state governments. No such proposal has been received from the state government of Punjab,” he said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.