J&K Old Pension Scheme: These employees can switch from NPS to OPS

The Jammu and Kashmir government has provided one-time option to its National Pension System-bound (NPS) employees to switch to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) provided they were appointed against a post or a vacancy advertised or notified for recruitment before December 24, 2009, but joined their service on or after January 1, 2010, under the NPS.

The Union Territory (UT) government has provided such J&K employees time till December 28, 2026, to utilise the one-time option to switch from the NPS to the OPS. Those who don’t use the option will continue to be covered under the NPS, the notification dated September 28, 2026, said.

The notification also clarified that once an eligible Jammu and Kashmir employee switches to the OPS, they can’t switch back to the NPS.


How can eligible J&K employees apply for Old Pension Scheme

The eligible J&K government employees can submit their OPS application to a Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO), who will forward it to the Head of Department (HOD) or the appointing authority.

The HOD or the appointing authority will then forward the case to the concerned administrative department. The administrative department will scrutinise each case and determine the eligibility of the employee for coverage under the Old Pension Scheme in accordance with these instructions and issue necessary orders within a month.

What will happen to eligible J&K employees’ existing NPS corpus?

The J&K said that the NPS account of eligible employees will be closed from 1st of the month following the month in which the OPS notification has been issued. Such employees will also be required to subscribe to the General Provident Fund (GPF).

Why these NPS-bound J&K employees get one-time opportunity to join OPS

Jammu and Kashmir switched from the OPS to the NPS through a notification dated December 24, 2009. The new pension scheme applied to the then state government employees who joined their service on or after January 1, 2010.

But some employees moved to court, saying that although they were recruited on or after January 1, 2010, the recruitment process for their posts had started before the NPS for the state was notified on December 24, 2009. It means that when the J&K government published the notification or advertisement of their vacancies, the OPS was in place for all state government employees. Such employees said that on the basis of this fact, they should be given the option to switch to the OPS.

Central government’s March 2023 order became game-changer for J&K employees

J&K employees argued based on a central government order dated March 3, 2023, where the Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare (DoPWW) said that NPS-bound central government employees who were appointed against a vacancy or post advertised or notified for recruitment before the date of NPS’ notification of December 23, 2003, and joined their service on or after January 1, 2004, should be given a one-time option to switch from the NPS to the OPS.

Central government employees were the first to get the NPS option when the government notified it on December 23, 2003, for employees who joined their service on or after January 1, 2004. But many employees moved court, giving the logic that although they joined their service when the NPS was in place, the advertisement or notification for their posts was published before the NPS’ notification date. The central government in March 2023 provided such employees a one-time option to switch from the NPS to the OPS.

J&K govt asked if central government’s OPS order automatically applies to its employees

The Jammu and Kashmir government in October 2024 asked the Ministry of Home Affairs if the central government’s order of a one-time switch from the NPS to the OPS also applies to its employees.

The DoPPW, in a letter dated December 6, 2024, replied to the J&K government that the service matters of employees of states or union territories do not come under it; therefore, its instructions are not suo moto applicable to state or UT employees.

The DoPWW replied that the J&K government and the concerned administrative department can decide the applicability of any service rules to their employees.

Once the J&K government got clarification from the DoPPW, it kept the matter before the Council of Ministers on September 10, 2026, which approved the proposal of the one-time switch to the OPS on the same day.