Maharashtra govt issues GR for OPS option for some employees who joined after November 1, 2005

NEW DELHI: The Maharashtra government on Friday issued a GR which asked its employees who joined service after November 1, 2005 to submit requests within six months to avail benefits of the Old Pension Scheme. The advertisements for these posts were issued before November 1, 2005 but those who were selected joined service after that date.

The state cabinet had last month cleared the proposal to give such employees the option of choosing OPS instead of the National Pension Scheme. The GR said those who do not submit requests within six months from today will get benefits under NPS.

"If the employee request for OPS is cleared, then authorities will have to issue orders in two months of such clearance. The NPS account of such employees will be closed and a general provident fund (GPF) account will be opened. The amount in the NPS account as well as interest will be transferred into the GPF," an official said.

The state government's share in the NPS account of such employees will be transferred to the state fund. Under the OPS, a government employee gets a monthly pension equivalent to 50 per cent his/her last drawn salary. There was no need for contribution by employees.

The OPS was discontinued in the state in 2005. Under the New Pension Scheme (NPS), a state government employee contributes 10 per cent of his/her basic salary plus dearness allowance with the state making a matching contribution.

The money is then invested in one of the several pension funds approved by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and the returns are market-linked.