Central Gov
Centrally administered NPS for Central Government employees, with mandatory employee and government contributions, and a defined exit framework under the Government sector rules.
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Government Sector NPS is the variant designed for Central Government employees who are covered under NPS instead of the traditional defined-benefit pension system. Participation is mandatory for employees joining on or after 1 January 2004 (Armed Forces excluded).
Central Government employees joining service on or after 1 January 2004 (except Armed Forces) are generally covered under NPS. Participation is mandatory for covered employees, and the employee contributes a prescribed percentage of Basic Pay plus Dearness Allowance.
The Government Sector NPS applies to eligible Central Government employees and to certain autonomous and government bodies covered under NPS. Pre-2004 entrants generally remain under the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) subject to service rules, while post-2004 entrants are typically covered under NPS.
Enrolment is handled by the employee's nodal office (Pay and Accounts Office or DDO) through the Central Recordkeeping Agency. The Subscriber Registration Form (CSRF-S1) is submitted with KYC documents, and contributions are routed through the employer's nodal office once a PRAN is generated.
Identity proof (Aadhaar, PAN, Passport, Voter ID, or Driving Licence), address proof, PAN card, bank account proof (cancelled cheque or passbook), recent passport-size photograph, signature, and active mobile number and email ID are required. Service details from the employer are captured by the nodal office.
On successful registration the Central Recordkeeping Agency issues a unique 12-digit Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN). The PRAN remains the subscriber's lifelong identity within NPS and stays unchanged across transfers, promotions, or moves between Central and State Government cadres.
Source notes: Chapter 5 - Types of NPS Accounts and Variants - Chapter 6 - Eligibility and Account Opening - Chapter 14 - NPS for Different User Segments. Verify current rules from official sources before acting.
Central Government subscribers can choose from the prescribed default Government allocation pattern, Scheme G (100% Government Securities), or lifecycle funds LC25, LC50, LC75, and the Balanced Lifecycle option. The introduction of LC75 has expanded equity flexibility for Central Government employees.
Central Government employees can choose from PFRDA-empanelled Pension Fund Managers including SBI Pension Funds, LIC Pension Fund, and UTI Retirement Solutions for the default scheme, with broader options available where private PFMs have been permitted under revised guidelines. The chosen PFM manages investments across all asset classes allocated to the subscriber.
Contributions are invested across Equity (E), Corporate Debt (C), and Government Securities (G). Asset Class A (Alternatives) was discontinued and merged into other schemes effective January 2026 and is no longer available for fresh allocation under the government sector.
Central Government subscribers can choose between the default Government allocation pattern, Scheme G (0% Equity, 100% Government Securities), LC25 (up to 25% Equity), LC50 (up to 50% Equity), LC75 (up to 75% Equity), and the Balanced Lifecycle (BLC) option which holds 50% equity initially and tapers later than LC50.
Subscribers should compare PFMs across 3-year, 5-year, and since-inception returns rather than only recent 1-year performance. NPS is a long-term retirement product, so consistent risk-adjusted performance across the relevant asset classes matters more than occasional spikes in returns.
Government sector subscribers can change the Pension Fund Manager once per financial year and can revise the investment choice or scheme preference up to four times per financial year. Government sector subscribers are generally limited to these changes only in their Tier II accounts, with Tier I held under the regulated default for most categories.
Source notes: Chapter 8 - Investment Options Under NPS - Chapter 9 - Pension Fund Managers and Scheme Selection. Verify current rules from official sources before acting.
The Central Government NPS uses a fixed contribution structure - employee 10% of Basic Pay plus Dearness Allowance, Central Government 14% of Basic Pay plus DA. Contributions are deducted from salary and remitted by the employer's nodal office.
The Central Government employee contributes 10% of Basic Pay plus Dearness Allowance (DA) to the Tier I NPS account each month. The contribution is deducted at source through payroll and credited to the subscriber's PRAN through the employer's nodal office.
The Central Government contributes 14% of Basic Pay plus DA to the employee's Tier I account. This is a mandatory employer contribution and is in addition to the employee's 10% - the combined 24% of Basic plus DA is invested through the chosen Pension Fund Manager.
Both contributions are credited to the Tier I retirement account. Tier I has no upper limit on contribution amount, and a subscriber can additionally make voluntary contributions in Tier I or open a Tier II account for flexible savings (with no employer contribution to Tier II).
Subscribers can view contribution history, NAV applied, and units allotted through the CRA portal under the Transaction Statement and Holding Statement. The Annual Transaction Statement (ATS) provides a yearly summary of contributions, opening and closing balances, units held, and corpus value.
Units are usually credited within T+1 to T+3 working days after a contribution is successfully reconciled by the Trustee Bank and CRA. Any missing or delayed government contribution can be tracked through the CRA portal's transaction history, and discrepancies should be raised with the employer's nodal office.
Source notes: Chapter 7 - Contribution Rules - Chapter 14 - NPS for Different User Segments. Verify current rules from official sources before acting.
Partial withdrawal from the Tier I account is allowed after three years of NPS membership for specified purposes. Maximum withdrawal is 25% of the subscriber's own contributions, excluding government contribution and investment gains.
A Central Government subscriber can take a partial withdrawal from the Tier I account after completing three years of NPS membership. The maximum is 25% of the subscriber's own contributions (employer/government contributions and investment gains are excluded from the calculation). Up to four partial withdrawals are permitted before exit.
Partial withdrawal is allowed for higher education of children, marriage of children, purchase or construction of first residential house, medical treatment and hospitalisation for self, spouse, children or dependent parents, disability or incapacitation expenses, and settlement of certain financial obligations against a permitted lien on the NPS account.
Each withdrawal is capped at 25% of the subscriber's own eligible contributions. A minimum gap of four years between successive withdrawals applies before age 60. If the account is continued beyond age 60, the minimum gap reduces to three years.
The partial withdrawal request requires the partial withdrawal form, a self-declaration and supporting documents for the stated purpose (admission letter, medical reports, sale agreement, etc.), and bank account proof for credit. The nodal office authorises the request in the CRA portal.
The request is initiated by the subscriber through the CRA portal under Manage My Withdrawal, supporting documents are uploaded, and the request is authorised by the concerned nodal office. After CRA verification, the lump sum is remitted to the registered bank account.
Source notes: Chapter 12 - Withdrawal, Exit, and Liquidity Rules. Verify current rules from official sources before acting.
On normal exit at superannuation, Central Government subscribers follow the government sector rules - lump sum and annuity split depends on corpus size. The traditional 60:40 lump sum to annuity structure continues to apply where corpus exceeds Rupees 12 lakh.
For Central Government subscribers with corpus above Rupees 12 lakh, up to 60% can be withdrawn as lump sum and a minimum of 40% must be used to purchase an annuity. If corpus is up to Rupees 8 lakh, 100% lump-sum withdrawal is allowed. If corpus is between Rupees 8 lakh and Rupees 12 lakh, up to Rupees 6 lakh can be withdrawn and the balance can be used for annuity or Systematic Unit Redemption (SUR).
Subscribers can defer the lump-sum withdrawal and the annuity purchase after attaining the normal retirement age. The corpus remains invested and continues to earn market-linked returns. Deferment of withdrawal and annuity purchase is permitted up to 85 years of age.
The maximum lump-sum portion is determined by the corpus slab - 100% up to Rupees 8 lakh, up to Rupees 6 lakh in the Rupees 8 lakh to Rupees 12 lakh slab, and up to 60% above Rupees 12 lakh. The lump-sum portion can also be taken in phased instalments through Systematic Lump Sum Withdrawal (SLW/SUR).
The mandatory annuity portion (minimum 40% where corpus exceeds Rupees 12 lakh) is used to purchase an annuity from a PFRDA-empanelled Annuity Service Provider. Available options include life annuity, joint life annuity, annuity with return of purchase price, and increasing annuity, with payment frequency of monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or annual.
On death of a Central Government subscriber, the nominee or legal heir can claim the accumulated pension wealth. Additional pensionary benefits and family pension provisions under government service rules may also apply. The NPS corpus is settled according to the exit regulations and applicable government rules.
Source notes: Chapter 12 - Withdrawal, Exit, and Liquidity Rules - Chapter 13 - Annuity Options. Verify current rules from official sources before acting.
Central Government employees can claim deductions on their own contribution under Section 80CCD(1) and the additional Rupees 50,000 under Section 80CCD(1B). The 14% employer contribution by the Central Government is deductible under Section 80CCD(2) and continues to be available under the new tax regime.
An employee's own contribution to NPS Tier I is deductible under Section 80CCD(1), within the overall Section 80C / 80CCE ceiling of Rupees 1.5 lakh. The deduction is generally up to 10% of salary (Basic plus DA) for salaried subscribers under the old regime.
An additional deduction of up to Rupees 50,000 is available under Section 80CCD(1B) for contributions to Tier I, over and above the Rupees 1.5 lakh Section 80C ceiling. This deduction is exclusive to NPS and is available under the old regime.
The Central Government's 14% employer contribution to the employee's NPS account is deductible from the employee's taxable income under Section 80CCD(2). This deduction is over and above 80CCD(1) and 80CCD(1B), and continues to be available under the new tax regime - making employer-routed NPS attractive even after opting for the new regime.
For an employee with Basic plus DA of Rupees 8,00,000, the Central Government contributes Rupees 1,12,000 (14% of Basic plus DA) to NPS. The employee can claim this full Rupees 1,12,000 as deduction under Section 80CCD(2), in addition to their own Rupees 1.5 lakh under 80CCD(1) and Rupees 50,000 under 80CCD(1B) (under the old regime).
Section 80CCD(1) covers the employee's own contribution within the Rupees 1.5 lakh ceiling. Section 80CCD(1B) provides an additional Rupees 50,000 specific to NPS. Section 80CCD(2) covers the employer contribution at 14% for Central Government employees. On exit, up to 60% lump-sum withdrawal from the corpus is tax-exempt under Section 10(12A); annuity income is taxable as per the applicable slab in the year of receipt.
Source notes: Chapter 14 - NPS for Different User Segments - Chapter 5 - Types of NPS Accounts and Variants. Verify current rules from official sources before acting.