VIJAYAWADA: Will the Andhra Pradesh government adopt the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) recently approved by the Union Cabinet? Employees currently under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in the state are skeptical, believing that the UPS may simply be a revamped version of the Guaranteed Pension Scheme (GPS) introduced by the previous YSRC administration.
Korukonda Satish, State President of the AP CPS Employees Association (APCPSEA), expressed doubt about the UPS being adopted, referring to it as "GPS 2.0." He pointed out that the TDP-led NDA government had suspended orders related to the GPS, raising uncertainty about the adoption of the UPS.
Satish noted that, aside from initially adopting the CPS when the National Pension System (NPS) was introduced, the state government has not followed subsequent amendments, such as increasing its contribution to 14%. Currently, both CPS employees and the state government contribute 10% each, while for central staff, the Centre’s contribution is 14% with NPS employees contributing 10%.
Although the UPS is seen as advantageous for NPS employees due to the Centre's proposed increase in contribution to 18.5% and ensuring a pension equivalent to 50% of the employees’ salary, CPS employees feel it primarily benefits the corporate sector and may not offer tangible benefits to them. They are concerned that the increased contributions will be invested in the stock market, with uncertain returns, thus not benefiting employees who have a shorter service period.
APCPSEA leaders Satish and CM Das emphasized their opposition to any pension scheme other than the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme. They have been assured by the coalition government that a resolution for CPS employees will be sought, and are awaiting further decisions.
Rongala Appala Raju, honorary advisor to APCPSEA, explained that under the NPS (or CPS in states), employees receive 60% of the total contributions (from both the government and employees) upon retirement, with the remaining 40% invested in markets for pension returns. However, the UPS lacks a provision for employees to receive back 60% of their contributions, he noted. Raju also highlighted past issues with the state government’s inconsistent contributions and misallocation of CPS funds, reinforcing their demand for a pension scheme that does not require employee contributions.