Lucknow: Divisional Railway Manager of North Eastern Railway, Lucknow Division, Aditya Kumar, in the presence of Senior Divisional Personnel Officer Rahul Yadav and Senior Divisional Finance Manager Dr. R.K. Bharti, organized a press conference on the subject of Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) at the Divisional Office.
The Divisional Railway Manager, while talking to the journalists, said that the approval of this scheme, which ensures dignity and financial security of the employees, has brought joy among the employees and employee unions.
There is an atmosphere of happiness among the employees and officers who joined government service after the year 2004 on the approval of UPS. While the government has secured the future of the officers and employees with the new pension system, it has also provided the right to live in the society with dignity after retirement. The Unified Pension Scheme guarantees assured pension.
During this, the Divisional Railway Manager explained in detail about the assured pension, assured family pension, minimum pension, inflation index as well as dearness relief based on the All India Consumer Price Index for industrial workers under the Integrated Pension Scheme. The minimum qualifying service period will be 50% of the average basic pay received in the last 12 months before retirement for 25 years. After a minimum of 10 years of service, the assured minimum pension on retirement will be Rs 10,000 per month. He said that apart from gratuity, a lump sum payment will also be given at the time of retirement and this includes 1/10th of the monthly remuneration (pay and DA) on the date of retirement for every six months of service.
For example, if an employee is retiring after 30 years of service, he will get 06 months salary as a lump sum. This payment will not reduce the assured pension amount. Apart from this, the government has also given the option to the employees to join any of the UPS and NPS schemes. Once chosen, the choice will be final. There will be no increase in the employee contribution in UPS rather the government has increased its contribution from 14 to 18.5 percent. This integrated pension scheme will come into effect from April 1, 2025.