The Government has notified Central Civil Services (Implementation of National Pension System (NPS)) Rules, 2021, effective from March 30, 2021. The Rules provide a detailed guideline enlisting various benefits available to NPS employees such as compensation to be paid to the Government servant in case of delay in registration and credit of contributions to the NPS Account, option for benefits under the CCS(Pension) Rules or NPS Rules in the event of death or disability of Government servant during service, Benefits payable on retirement on superannuation, premature retirement, voluntary retirement, absorption in autonomous body or PSU, etc. The key features of the Rules are discussed below in brief:
Applicability: The Rules shall be applicable to the Government servants, including civilian Government servants in the Defence Services and shall not apply to Railway servants; persons in casual and daily rated employment; persons paid from contingencies; members of the All India Services; persons locally recruited for services in diplomatic, consular or other Indian establishments in foreign countries; persons employed on contract; persons whose terms and conditions of service are regulated by or under the provisions of the Constitution or any other law for the time being in force; and persons to whom the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 apply in accordance with any special or general order issued by the Government.
Registration to NPS and Emoluments: Rule 4 of the Rules discusses the steps for registration into National Pension System by a government servant upon joining the service, through filling out a Common Subscriber form or as directed by the concerned authority. Rule 5 states the emoluments for the purpose of determining the amount of mandatory contribution under the National Pension System.
Contribution by the Subscriber to the National Pension System: The National Pension System shall work on defined contribution basis. A Subscriber shall make a contribution of ten per cent or such other percentage as may be notified from time to time, of his emoluments to the National Pension System every month. The amount of contribution payable shall be rounded off to the next higher rupee.
Contribution by the Government: The Government shall make contribution of fourteen per cent or such other percentage as may be notified from time to time, of the emoluments of a Government servant to the Individual Pension Account of the Subscriber every month.
Retirement: Rules 11 and 12 discusses the regulations and procedure to be followed upon retirement of an individual on superannuation or after completion of twenty years of regular service, respectively.
Retirement under rule 56 of fundamental rules or under the special voluntary retirement scheme shall be entitled to benefits as admissible under the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority ( Exits and Withdrawals under National Pension System) Regulations, 2015 to the Subscriber retiring on superannuation, provided that Subscriber who on being declared surplus to the establishment in which he was serving, opts for Special Voluntary Retirement Scheme of Department of Personnel and Training, shall also be entitled to the ex-gratia admissible under the Scheme in addition to benefits admissible under the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority ( Exits and Withdrawals under National Pension System) Regulations, 2015.
Resignation from Government service: On resignation from a Government service, the lump sum and the annuity out of the individual’s accumulated pension corpus shall be paid to him in accordance with the regulations notified by the Authority as admissible in the case of exit of individual from the National Pension System before superannuation.
Benefit on absorption in or under a corporation, company or body shall be deemed to have retired from service from the date of such absorption and shall be eligible to receive benefits under the National Pension System in accordance with the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Exits and Withdrawals under National Pension System) Regulations, 2015 as admissible in the case of exit of Subscriber on superannuation.
*Tanvi Singh, Editorial Assistant has put this story together.
