NMOPS protests, rejects Unified Pension Scheme

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 28: Responding to the call of the National Executive Committee of the National Movement for Old Pension Scheme (NMOPS), the J&K unit of NMOPS held a peaceful symbolic protest across Jammu & Kashmir.
The protestors denounced the recently notified Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) dated January 24, 2025, by the Department of Financial Services, Union Ministry of Finance, and demanded the immediate restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
During the symbolic protest, charts of the UPS were symbolically burned, signaling the movement’s strong opposition to the truncated pension scheme.
In a Statement, Mohd Ashraf, UT president of NMOPS-J&K, emphasized the deceptive nature of the UPS, stating, “As anticipated, UPS is merely an option within the National Pension System (NPS), effective from April 1, 2025. Despite being presented as a breakthrough decision by the Union Cabinet in August 2024, the truth is evident-it is neither a pension nor a sustainable welfare system. It is nothing more than a misleading ‘Assured Pay Out’ or ‘Family Pay Out’ that fails to secure employees’ futures.”
Explaining the provisions of the UPS, Ashraf elaborated, “The scheme is a funding-based system relying on regular employee and employer contributions. An employee contributes 10% of Pay + DA, matched equally by the government. An additional 8.5% of Basic Pay + DA is invested at the government’s discretion. This accumulated pool, referred to as the Pool Corpus (PC), includes contributions and returns.”
However, Ashraf pointed out the flaws in the scheme: “To avail of the full benefits, employees must transfer their entire Individual Corpus to the Pool Corpus. Any partial withdrawals during service will require additional contributions to regain eligibility for the full benefit. The earlier promise of allowing a 60% withdrawal option has turned out to be another ‘Jumla’ since it finds no mention in the latest notification.”
He further highlighted restrictive eligibility criteria, stating, “Employees must serve 25 years to receive 50% of the last 12 months’ average Basic Pay as assured payout. Those opting for voluntary retirement before 25 years of service or with less than 10 years of service are excluded from assured payouts. Moreover, family payouts are restricted to 60% of the assured amount, and the minimum payout guarantee of Rs 10,000 does not apply to family payouts.”
The NMOPS reaffirmed its commitment to continue peaceful protests across India until the Old Pension Scheme is restored.