Operationalisation of Unified Pension Scheme under National Pension System

Summary: Key Highlights of the Unified Pension Scheme

The Railway Board has issued detailed instructions for the operationalisation of the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) under the National Pension System (NPS) for employees. The scheme allows eligible employees to choose the UPS option under NPS. Below are the main points and instructions regarding the implementation process:

• Exercise of Option: Employees can opt for UPS through online or physical submission of prescribed forms.
• Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN): Employees opting for UPS will be tagged with a unique PRAN for tracking their pension contributions.
• Pool Corpus: Contributions for employees opting for UPS will be managed in a Pool Corpus, consisting of the central government contribution and individual corpus transfers.
• Budgeting and Accountal: Government contributions will be managed according to new accounts introduced in IPAS.

Instructions for Implementation

As per the Railway Board Order RBA No. 10/2025 dated 30.03.2025, the following guidelines must be followed for the successful implementation of the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) under the National Pension System (NPS).

1. Exercise of Option: How Employees Can Opt for UPS

Eligible employees can submit their UPS option forms either online or physically. Here’s the process:

• Employees can submit the necessary forms (A1, A2, B2, B6) via the CRA portal or directly to the Head of Office or DDO.
• If submitting online, CRA will acknowledge the submission and forward it to the DDO for verification. The DDO will update the records and send them to the PAO for final authorization.
• In cases where online submission isn’t possible, physical forms must be submitted to the Head of Office, who will forward the information to the DDO for processing.
• Failure to submit the option within the prescribed time will result in the employee being deemed to have opted for the standard NPS without UPS.

2. Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) for UPS Subscribers

The PRAN system plays a crucial role in tracking the pension contributions for employees under the UPS scheme. Key points include:

• Employees who opt for UPS through forms A1 or A2 will be assigned a unique PRAN tagged to UPS.
• Employees who choose UPS through forms B2 or B6 will continue using their existing PRAN, which will be tagged to the UPS scheme.
• The CRA will transfer the individual’s corpus to the new PRAN tagged to UPS after PAO authorization.
• Employees may choose to have an additional NPS account (Tier I and Tier II) under the All Citizen model on a voluntary basis.

3. Pool Corpus Management

The Pool Corpus will manage the contributions for employees opting for UPS. It will include the following:

• An additional central government contribution of 8.5% of Basic Pay (including NPA, where applicable) and Dearness Allowance for employees who choose UPS.
• Transfer of individual corpus balances as per the prescribed regulations.
• Any other contributions defined by the Central Government.

4. Budgeting and Accountal of Contributions

The contributions made under the UPS will be accounted for through the new account heads introduced in the IPAS system. The contributions will be tracked separately for the employee and government under UPS.

• CRIS is tasked with ensuring the introduction of the new account heads and separate payroll modules for both employee and government contributions under UPS.
• The individual contributions (10% of Basic Pay + DA) along with the matched government contribution will be credited to the individual PRAN.

Additional Resources and SOP

A detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for migrating from NPS to UPS is available online. For more information, please visit the official SOP page at:

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on UPS Migration