Mon Jun 23 23:13:00 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary and a rewritten news article based on the provided text:

**Summary:**

The Finance Ministry has extended the deadline for government employees to choose the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) over the National Pension System (NPS) by three months, from June 30th to September 30th, 2025. This extension comes in response to requests from various stakeholders. The UPS, approved in August 2024, is a contributory scheme where employees contribute 10% of their salary while the government contributes 18.5%. Unlike the old pension scheme (OPS) where employees received a fixed 50% of their last drawn pay, the UPS payout depends on market returns on the invested corpus. The option to choose between the UPS and the NPS can be exercised by 23 lakh government employees.

**News Article:**

**Finance Ministry Extends Deadline for Unified Pension Scheme Option**

**New Delhi, June 24, 2025:** The Finance Ministry announced Monday the extension of the cut-off date for eligible government employees to choose the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) over the National Pension System (NPS). The new deadline is September 30, 2025, providing a three-month extension from the original June 30th deadline.

The decision to extend the deadline came after the ministry received numerous representations from stakeholders requesting more time to consider their options.

The UPS, approved by the Union Cabinet in August 2024, applies to central government employees covered under the NPS since January 1, 2004. This allows approximately 2.3 million employees to choose between the NPS and the UPS.

A key difference between the UPS and the old pension scheme (OPS) is its contributory nature. Under the UPS, employees contribute 10% of their basic salary and dearness allowance, while the government contributes 18.5%. In contrast, the OPS, which ended in January 2004, provided a fixed pension equal to 50% of the employee’s last drawn basic pay.

Furthermore, unlike the fixed payout of the OPS, the UPS payout depends on the market returns on the invested corpus, which is primarily invested in government debt. The ministry hopes the extension will allow employees ample time to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of each pension scheme before making a final decision.

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