Entitlement for Family on Death of a Central Government Servant Opted for Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) under NPS
The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW), Government of India, has issued an important Office Memorandum (OM No. 57/03/2022-P&PW(B)/8361(7)) dated 29th October 2025, clarifying the entitlements for family members in the event of the death of a Central Government servant who had opted for the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) under the National Pension System (NPS).
This notification ensures transparency and uniformity in pension-related benefits for Central Government employees covered under the Unified Pension Scheme.
🔷 Key Highlights of the Unified Pension Scheme Rules
The Central Civil Services (Implementation of Unified Pension Scheme under the NPS) Rules, 2025, and the Central Civil Services (Payment of Gratuity under NPS) Rules, 2021 govern the service-related benefits and gratuity provisions for Government servants who have opted for UPS under NPS.
These rules are effective from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
🔶 1. Family Entitlement under Rule 19 of UPS Rules, 2025
Rule 19 lays down the procedure and entitlement for the family of a deceased government employee who was covered under the Unified Pension Scheme.
- If the deceased employee had opted (or was automatically covered under Rule 10) for benefits under:
- Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 2021, or
- Central Civil Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 2023,
the Head of Office will take further action to disburse benefits as per the relevant Pension Rules.
- If the death is attributable to government service, benefits will be disbursed under the Extraordinary Pension Rules, 2023, provided all required conditions are met.
🔶 2. Transfer of Pension Corpus on Death
If the family is entitled to benefits under CCS (Pension) Rules or CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, then:
- The Government’s contribution and its returns in the deceased employee’s UPS corpus will be transferred back to the Government account.
- The remaining amount in the corpus will be paid in lump sum to the legally wedded spouse as on the date of death.
- If there is no legally wedded spouse, the remaining amount will go to the legal heir(s) of the deceased employee.
🔶 3. Benefits for Employees under Unified Pension Scheme (UPS)
In cases where the deceased subscriber had opted (or was deemed to have opted) for benefits under the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), the family will receive pensionary benefits as per the PFRDA (Operationalisation of Unified Pension Scheme under NPS) Regulations, 2025.
🔶 4. Death Gratuity Entitlement under UPS
For government employees who die while in service and were covered under UPS, their family is eligible for Death Gratuity as per Rule 22 of the CCS (Payment of Gratuity under NPS) Rules, 2021.
The rates of death gratuity are as follows:
| Sl. No. | Length of Qualifying Service | Rate of Death Gratuity |
|---|---|---|
| (i) | Less than one year | 2 times of emoluments |
| (ii) | 1 year or more but less than 5 years | 6 times of emoluments |
| (iii) | 5 years or more but less than 11 years | 12 times of emoluments |
| (iv) | 11 years or more but less than 20 years | 20 times of emoluments |
| (v) | 20 years or more | Half of emoluments for every completed six-monthly period of qualifying service, subject to a maximum of 33 times of emoluments |
👉 Maximum Death Gratuity Limit: ₹25 lakh.
🔶 5. Mandatory Compliance for Ministries and Departments
All Ministries, Departments, and attached/subordinate offices are instructed to:
- Inform their employees about these new provisions.
- Ensure strict implementation of the entitlement and disbursement process for all government servants covered under UPS/NPS.
🟢 Summary
This new Office Memorandum brings clarity and assurance to the families of Central Government employees under the Unified Pension Scheme. It harmonizes pension, gratuity, and corpus transfer benefits while ensuring fair treatment of families in unfortunate circumstances.