National Pension System: The Department of Pensions and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) has issued new guidelines that address reimbursement from employees of the National Pension System (NPS) as well as returns in the event of death , disability or invalidity before notification. of the CCS (Implementation of NPS) Rules, 2021.

This directive, issued by the DoPPW under the aegis of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, aims to provide clarity and assistance to government employees and their beneficiaries regarding the refund of NPS contributions in the event of the death of the holder. account.

The National Pension System (NPS) was implemented in January 2004, requiring participation of new central government recruits, except members of the armed forces. Adjustments have been made to the current retirement regulations to ensure that employees hired before January 1, 2004 remain subject to the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, and the CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939.

Here are the main points:

1. As per the new guidelines, in case of death of the subscriber or dismissal due to disability or disability, his family members or the civil servant will receive benefits as per the Central Civil Service (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939 or the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972. The Government contribution and all returns accrued in the accumulated pension fund of the subscriber will be transferred to a Government account.

“In case of death of the subscriber or dismissal on account of disability or disability, benefits are payable to the family members/government servant under the Central Civil Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939 or Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972. , the government contribution and the income arising therefrom in the accumulated pension corpus of the subscriber will be transferred to the government account,” the Office memorandum said.

2. “The remaining accrued pension corpus shall be paid in lump sum to the Government servant or person(s) in whose favor an appointment has been made under the Regulations of the Pension Regulatory and Development Authority. pension funds (exits and withdrawals under the national pension system). , 2015, as applicable.

3. To help alleviate difficulties faced by employees hired after January 1, 2004, temporary benefits were provided under the CCS Pension Regulations in 2009 to those who died or were discharged due to disability. However, these benefits were subject to adjustment from final payments under the new rules.

4. In 2015, new regulations specified that in the event of the death of a subscriber, if benefits were claimed under the CCS Pension Regulations, the entire accumulated pension assets would be transferred to the State. This transfer included both the government contribution and the corpus accumulated by the subscriber.

5. Since January 1, 2004, these guidelines have been put in place to ensure that the employee’s contribution, as well as returns, are refunded to the applicant or legal heirs, together with interest calculated from the date from death or release until payment. is carried out, based on the rates of the Public Provident Fund.

6. In cases where benefits have already been granted under the CCS rules, it is clarified that if the government contribution has not been deposited in the public account, reimbursement will be required on exit from the NPS, including interest calculated at the applicable rates.

The aim of this memorandum is to promote transparency and provide support to civil servants and their families, ensuring that they receive the benefits to which they are entitled in the event of unforeseen circumstances.