The move spells relief for those who were recruited before the new pension regime was introduced but for whom appointments came later.

The Finance Department of the Jammu and Kashmir administration has issued a Government Order to this effect, a copy of which is with The Secretariat. 

The order says employees appointed against posts or vacancies advertised or notified before 24 December 2009, but who joined government service on or after January 1, 2010 and were consequently brought under NPS, can exercise a one-time option for coverage under the Defined Pension Scheme, commonly referred to as OPS.

The decision addresses a long-standing issue arising from the transition from the old defined-benefit pension system to the contributory pension regime in Jammu and Kashmir. 

NPS was introduced through the Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO)-400 dated 24 December 2009 by amending the J&K Civil Service Regulations, 1956, with its provisions applying to employees joining government service from 1 January 2010.

The Jammu and Kashmir decision thus creates a specific, time-bound exception for employees caught between two pension regimes because their recruitment advertisements predated the introduction of NPS, while their actual entry into government service took place after the new system became applicable.

Cheer For Employees 

Manjeet Singh Patel, president of the All India NPS Employees Federation, welcomed the decision, saying the order was significant for employees whose recruitment had been initiated before the new pension system came into force.

“The employees of Jammu and Kashmir whose recruitment was advertised or notified before 24 December 2009 have now been given a one-time option under Government Order No. 305-F of 2026 to switch from the New Pension Scheme (NPS) to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS),” Patel said.

“This is particularly significant because NPS was endorsed in Jammu and Kashmir only after this date, when the erstwhile state had its own Constitution. Since Jammu and Kashmir has, since 2019, been a Union Territory like Delhi, this development could raise significant hopes in Delhi as well, where employees recruited against posts advertised or notified before June 2004 have approached the courts seeking consideration for a shift from NPS to OPS,” Patel said.

Following A Precedent

The move follows representations from employees who sought treatment similar to that extended by the Centre to certain government employees recruited against vacancies advertised before the introduction of NPS.

The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW), through an Office Memorandum issued on 3 March 2023, had provided a one-time option to specified Central government employees who were appointed against posts or vacancies advertised or notified before 22 December 2003—the date of the Centre’s NPS notification—but joined service on or after 1 January 2004. Such employees were allowed to come under the Central Civil Services pension rules.

Jammu and Kashmir employees subsequently sought similar treatment through representations and legal proceedings. 

The union territory administration examined the issue in consultation with the General Administration Department, Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, and the Administrative Reforms, Inspections, and Trainings Department before sending it to the Council of Ministers.

How Order Will Play Out

Employees, however, have to establish that their appointment was against a post or vacancy advertised or notified before 24 December 2009 and that they subsequently joined government service on or after 1 January 2010 while being covered by NPS.

The option has to be exercised within three months of the issuance of the order. 

The prescribed application form specifies 28 December 2026 as the deadline. The choice, once exercised, will be final. Employees who fail to exercise the option within the stipulated period will continue under NPS.

The application will have to be submitted through the Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO), who will forward it to the Head of Department or appointing authority and thereafter to the concerned Administrative Department. The department will scrutinise the employee’s eligibility and issue the necessary order within one month.

The order also lays down the procedure for transitioning employees from NPS to OPS. 

Once approval is granted, the employee’s NPS account will be closed from the first day of the month following the month in which the order granting OPS coverage is issued. The employee will thereafter subscribe to the General Provident Fund (GPF).

The accumulated NPS corpus will be dealt with in accordance with the prescribed rules. The order provides for adjustment of the employee’s contribution and the government contribution, besides accounting for the investment appreciation on the accumulated corpus.

The entire exercise - from exercising the option to closure of the NPS account - has to be completed within 120 days from the date of issuance of the OPS coverage order by the concerned Administrative Department.