UPS Deadline Extended: Govt Employees Get Two More Months To Decide On Switching Pension Scheme

The deadline to switch to the Unified Pension Scheme, or UPS, has been extended till Nov. 30, 2025, according to an official note issued by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) on Tuesday.

The earlier deadline to switch from the National Pension System to the UPS was scheduled to expire on Sept. 30. This was due to multiple requests received by various stakeholders in order to give employees more time to understand the different positive changes that have been announced in the UPS and then exercise the right option, as per the note.

The DFS has requested the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) to carry out necessary changes that includes entablements in the CRA systems and issuance of circulars to give effect to the decision of the government.

This is the second extension by the government. The central government had earlier extended the deadline to Sept. 30 from June 30.

Under UPS, the employees will be eligible for an assured, inflation-index pension with a guaranteed minimum payout; whereas NPS is a market-linked scheme with potentially higher pensions but comes along with risks.

Employees can switch to NPS later only once and will be unable to switch back to UPS. The option must be exercised at least one year before superannuation or three months before voluntary retirement or VRS. If employees fail to choose the switch to NPS before these deadlines, they will continue under UPS.

It is also important to note that employees who face removal, dismissal, or compulsory retirement as a penalty or in cases where disciplinary proceedings have been initiated, will not be allowed to switch their pension scheme.