Possibilities and effects of implementation of Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) in UP

INDC Network : Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) : Unified Pension Scheme (UPS): When will it be implemented in UP and what will be its effects?

The Union Cabinet has recently approved the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), which has raised hopes of financial security and a better future for lakhs of central government employees. With the implementation of UPS, employees will get 50% of their basic salary of the last 12 months at the time of their retirement as pension. Apart from this, employees who retire after more than 25 years of service will also get pension in the same proportion. CM Yogi Adityanath has reacted on social media regarding UPS and called it a positive step. Along with this, it is expected that the Yogi government will implement UPS in Uttar Pradesh as well, as it has previously shown a tendency to implement central schemes in the state.

What is UPS and what is new in it?

One of the major changes in UPS is that employees will get 50% of their last year's basic salary as pension after retirement. For example, if an employee's last year's basic salary is Rs 50,000, he will get a pension of Rs 25,000 every month after retirement. Apart from this, if an employee has served for more than 10 years and less than 25 years, he will still get at least Rs 10,000 per month in pension. Inflation will be added to the pension keeping in mind the impact of inflation. If an employee dies, his family will get 60% of his pension. Along with this, the family will also get Minimum Dearness Relief (earlier Dearness Allowance), which will be decided on the basis of AICPI-W. The government will now give 10% of the salary and DA of each employee as a lump sum amount after every 6 months of service. This will provide employees with a lump sum amount after retirement, which will depend on their period of service.

Possibility of implementation of UPS in UP and its effects

The process of implementing UPS in Uttar Pradesh has started. The Finance Department of UP has gathered complete information about UPS from the Union Finance Ministry and has also started the paperwork. The top officials of the Yogi government are ready to implement it as soon as possible, so that its benefits can be taken before the upcoming assembly by-elections.

Experts believe that implementing UPS before the by-elections can help the Yogi government create a positive image among employees. More than 10 lakh government employees in UP will come under the purview of UPS. In the last few years, the Yogi government has increased the number of government jobs, which has increased this number.

Old Pension Scheme (OPS) vs UPS

Under OPS, employees received 50% of their last salary as pension, while under UPS the pension amount is fixed. OPS also had a cap on General Provident Fund (GPF) and gratuity, which put an additional financial burden on the government. Only 12% of the total employees in OPS received pension benefits.

In UPS, the government has increased the contribution of 14% of the salary of the employees to 18.5%. Apart from this, the amount of pension given to the family after death under UPS has been increased by 60%. The minimum pension for employees with less service has been fixed at Rs 10 thousand.

Feedback from employees

There are mixed reactions about UPS among the employees of UP. President of Uttar Pradesh Prathmik Shikshak Sangh, Dinesh Chandra Sharma says that the employees will not accept UPS. According to him, in the old pension scheme, 10% was deducted from the salary of the employees every month, which was returned with interest at the time of retirement. In UPS, the amount of pension after retirement has been fixed, but there is no provision for returning the amount deducted from the salary. In this way, the employees are apprehensive about the acceptability of UPS, especially when some facilities have decreased in UPS compared to OPS.

Conclusion: The UPS scheme of the Central Government has introduced a new pension system for government employees, which comes with many new provisions and benefits. Its early implementation in UP may be part of the government's strategy to satisfy the working class and gain support in the upcoming elections. However, the response of the employees and the acceptability of UPS will ultimately depend on how effectively it is implemented and how quickly its benefits reach the employees.