New Vs Old Pension Scheme: 'Can't Return Funds From NPS Corpus', Says Centre

The state governments of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand are unlikely to get back money deposited to date under the National Pension System (NPS) as the Centre has said that there is no provision under law to refund the NPS funds to any of the state governments.

In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Union Finance Ministry said, "The State Governments of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand have informed the Central Government/Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) about their decision to restart Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for their state government employees".

Further, Punjab government has also issued notification regarding implementation of OPS to the government employees who are presently being covered under the National Pension System (NPS).

However, no such proposal has been received from the Punjab government, the ministry said.

The Finance Ministry added that the state governments of Rajasthan Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand have been informed that there was no provision under the PFRDA Act and regulations through which the NPS funds can be refunded and deposited back to the state government.

Further, the ministry also made it clear that there was no proposal under consideration of Central government for restoration of old pension scheme.