No provision in law to return pension funds to states: Center on old scheme

NPS was introduced by the Central Government in December 2003

New Delhi:

The Central government on Tuesday said there is no provision in the PFRDA Act for refund of accumulated NPS funds being sought by five non-BJP states that wish to revive the old pension scheme.

The state governments of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have informed the Center about their decision to roll back OPS and have requested for refund of funds accumulated under the National Pension System (NPS).

“There is no provision under the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 2013…under which the accumulated corpus of the subscribers such as Government contribution, employees’ contribution to NPS as well as accruals can be returned and transferred to the State Government. Can be deposited back,” Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

The Minister further said that the Central Government is not considering any proposal to restore OPS in respect of Central Government employees recruited after January 1, 2004.

NPS was introduced by the Central Government in December 2003 to replace the defined benefit pension system with a defined contribution pension scheme to provide old age income security in a financially sustainable manner and prudently to productive sectors of the economy. Small savings can be channelised. Investment.

It was made mandatory for all new recruits to government service (except the armed forces) from 1 January 2004, and has also been extended to all citizens on a voluntary basis from 1 May 2009.

According to the PFRDA, 26 state governments, with the exception of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, have notified and implemented NPS for their employees, the minister said, adding, “Such liability under OPS – a defined benefit pension system – is an unfunded liability.” state government, which will be met from their future revenue.” Answering another question on OPS, Karad cited the Reserve Bank’s report on ‘State Finances: A Study of Budgets for 2022-23’ to say that reverting to OPS “will save the state from unfunded pension liabilities in the years to come”. We run the risk of accumulating.”

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