State Govt employees to soon join the reformed pension system

MUMBAI: As state-owned public sector pension fund managers are nearing the completion of one year, the 21 state governments which have opted for the New Pension Scheme (NPS) are expected to join the system.

At present, three pension funds manage contributions of Central Government employees who joined the new pension scheme from January 1, 2004.

Though 21 states has signed the memoranda of understanding (MoU) for adopting NPS for new recruits, they are yet to join the system to manage the contributions made by the employees.

"Till now, we are managing Central Government funds. Some of the 21 State Government have signed an agreement with the NPS trust. After the agreement with NPS, they will select the fund manager," LIC Pension Fund's Chief Executive Officer, H Sadhak, said.

"We personally have met some of the State Governments. None of them have joined but they will join soon. We expect that some of the State Governments would shortly sign the agreement," he said.

Apart from LIC, pension funds are managed by SBI Pension Fund and UTI Pension Fund. New Pension Scheme Trust is the actual owner of pension funds and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is the regulator.

Presently, the contributions of State Government employees are with the Government. Until the pension fund was formed, even Central Government employees' contributions was with the Government.