The Government of Maharashtra has announced that its revised National Pension Scheme (NPS) is optional for employees covered under the existing NPS.
A circular released on 6 May 2026 has also laid down the procedure for implementing the revised NPS for employees who wish to opt for it. The scheme will apply only to those who exercise the option within the stipulated deadline —the end of this calendar year.
Earlier, the state government announced that employees must express their intent to join the revised scheme before 31 December 2026.
Similar to UPS?
The revised NPS was launched on the lines of the Centre’s unified pension scheme (UPS), a default pension scheme for new recruits joining the central government from 1 April 2025.
Meanwhile, employees who are covered under the NPS have been given a one-time option to switch to UPS. To bring parity between the two pension schemes, the government had announced that UPS would also offer tax benefits just like NPS.
50% of the last salary
One of the key benefits of the revised NPS is that the retirees will be entitled to a pension equal to 50% of their last-drawn salary plus DA, provided they have served 20 years or more.
And those who have worked for a time period between 10 and 20 years will be entitled to a pension proportionate to the length of service based on the last-drawn salary. The minimum pension fixed by the government is ₹7,500 per month for those retiring after 10 years of service.
But if someone retired in less than 10 years of service, they are not entitled to any pension benefits.
Withdrawals permitted
The state government circular dated 6 May 2026 stated that any withdrawals made from the NPS corpus need to be returned along with 10% interest, failing which the pension would be reduced proportionately.
Additionally, employees who resign from their posts will be rendered ineligible for pension under the revised scheme, but would receive benefits under the existing NPS framework.
These provisions will also apply to the employees of government-aided educational institutions, agricultural universities and affiliated non-government colleges, and the staff of zilla parishads and panchayat samitis.
A detailed procedure for the disbursement of pension is now awaited.
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