The Assam government has formally rolled out the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), creating a new retirement framework for state employees currently enrolled in the National Pension System (NPS). The scheme, notified by the Finance Department, is designed to offer assured payouts and stronger financial protection for government staff after retirement. It will come into effect on 1 April, 2025.
Under the UPS, retirees with a minimum of 10 years of qualifying service will begin receiving payouts immediately upon superannuation. Employees opting for voluntary retirement after completing 25 years of service will start receiving benefits from their normal retirement date. The scheme promises a full assured payout equal to 50 per cent of the average basic pay drawn over the last 12 months for employees who complete 25 years of service. Those with 10 to 25 years of service will receive proportionate benefits, with a guaranteed minimum payout of Rs 10,000 per month.
Employees covered under the NPS will have a one-year window from the date of notification to switch to the UPS. Those who choose not to opt in will continue under the existing NPS structure. The new system is targeted at employees who have completed at least 10 years of service; those with less than a decade of service are not eligible to shift.
Family members of deceased pensioners will receive 60 per cent of the assured pension as family pension, and Dearness Relief will be extended to both pensioners and family pensioners. Retiring employees will also be eligible for a lump-sum payment equivalent to 10 per cent of monthly emoluments for every completed six-month period of service.
The UPS will operate through a dual-corpus structure: an individual fund comprising 10 per cent of basic pay plus DA, and a pooled corpus funded through an additional estimated government contribution of 8.5 per cent. Employees may choose investment options for their individual corpus under PFRDA regulations, while the pooled corpus will remain under state management.
Additional benefits, such as Compassionate Family Pension and gratuity, will continue in line with NPS norms. Former NPS retirees will also be allowed to opt into the new scheme and will receive arrears with interest calculated at Public Provident Fund rates.
The state will issue a detailed SOP covering withdrawals, missing contributions, suspended periods and investment processes. The Finance Department will oversee all clarifications and future guidelines to support seamless implementation.
