Govt employees to have two more investment options under NPS, UPS

The government has approved the extension of two investment options, Life Cycle and Balanced Life Cycle, to Central Government employees under the National Pension System (NPS) and the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). This was announced by the Ministry of Finance on Friday.

This is in line with the continued demand from Central Government employees for a broader range of investment options similar to those available to non-government subscribers. These options were designed to enhance flexibility in retirement planning and allow employees to manage their retirement corpus according to individual preferences, the finance ministry said. Under NPS and UPS, the Central Government employees can now choose from a range of investment options — default option, which is a 'default pattern' of investment defined by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) from time to time.

The other option is Scheme G, wherein 100 per cent investment would be in government securities for low-risk, fixed returns. Under Life Cycle (LC-25) option, maximum equity allocation of 25 per cent, tapering gradually from age 35 to 55, while LC-50 caps maximum equity allocation at 50 per cent of the retirement corpus.

The Balanced Life Cycle (BLC) option is a modified version of LC50, with equity allocation tapering from age 45, enabling employees to remain invested in equities for a longer period if desired. In LC75, the maximum equity allocation of 75 per cent, tapering gradually from age 35 to 55.