All central government employees covered under the National Pension System (NPS) must exercise an option to choose their terminal benefits at the time of joining service, the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare said in an Office Memorandum issued on October 26.
It said that employees are required to fill out Option Form 1 to decide whether they will be eligible for benefits under the NPS or the old pension scheme in the event of death, invalidation or disablement.
Submit option Form 1 to choose between NPS or Old Pension System
This form must be submitted at the time of joining the service and helps the employee choose between receiving pension benefits under the NPS, the old pension system (Central Civil Service Pension Rules), or the extraordinary pension rules.
Even for employees already in service and covered under NPS, it is mandatory to exercise this option.
The department under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions also stressed the need for employees to submit Form 2, providing family details, to their respective Heads of Office.
Also read: National Pension Scheme: Can you make NPS payment through credit cards?
This OM comes as despite previous reminders, many government employees have yet to complete this process, prompting a fresh push for compliance across ministries and departments.
Despite previous communications, the government has noticed that many ministries and departments have not fully complied with this requirement.
As a result, a fresh reminder has been issued to ensure that all employees submit both Form 1 and Form 2 without further delay, ensuring strict adherence to the rules outlined in the Central Civil Services (Implementation of NPS) Rules, 2021.
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