Despite strong demands for assured pensions, the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) has seen limited adoption among central government employees. Government data tabled in Parliament on Monday showed that 1,18,195 employees had enrolled in the scheme as of July 19, including recent recruits. This represents 4.3% of the 27.6 lakh central government subscribers under the National Pension System (NPS) as of the end of June.
For long govt employees, at the Centre as well as in states, were demanding an assurance that the pension payout be at least 50% of their last salary — something that is the norm under the old pension scheme, which was discontinued in 2004 when NPS, which has contributions from the employee, kicked in.
