– The Centre has announced a new ‘Unified Pension Scheme’ (UPS) for government employees, fulfilling a long-standing demand of government unions.
– The UPS assures retirees half of their last drawn salary as a lifelong monthly benefit, along with other features like periodic dearness relief hikes and a minimum pension of ₹10,000 a month.
– The UPS has evoked mixed responses from trade unions, with some welcoming it and others claiming it is meant to deceive employees.
– The UPS is similar to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) but is funded, with employees contributing 10% of their salary and the government contributing 18.5%.
– The UPS will have a retrospective effect, making employees who joined after January 1, 2004 and retired under the NPS eligible for the UPS.
– The decision to introduce the UPS seems to be aimed at gaining goodwill for upcoming State elections.