Railways Holds Seminars to Nudge Staff on NPS-to-UPS Switch

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With the one-time option to shift from National Pension System to Unified Pension System closing on September 30, 2025, Indian Railways has conducted awareness drives across zones and production units to help employees make informed choices.

By TRH News Desk

NEW DELHI, September 18, 2025 — Indian Railways has conducted 1,799 seminars nationwide to inform employees about the one-time option to switch from the National Pension System (NPS) to the Unified Pension System (UPS), aimed at strengthening post-retirement financial security for Central Government staff.

The awareness campaign, led by the Ministry of Railways, has been rolled out across all zones and production units, with Southern Railway topping the list with 768 seminars, followed by South Eastern (135), South Western (99), South East Central (91), North Western (90), Northern (88), and North Central Railway (80). Other zones such as Northeast Frontier, South Central, West Central, Central, Eastern, and Western Railways also held dozens of seminars to guide employees through the transition.

Production units and training institutes actively joined the effort, with seminars organized by the Integral Coach Factory (17), Rail Wheel Factory (20), Modern Coach Factory (6), Rail Coach Factory (6), Banaras Locomotive Works (5), and Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (4), among others.

The Ministry of Finance had notified the Unified Pension System (UPS) on January 24, 2025, while the Department of Financial Services issued guidelines on August 25, 2025, allowing employees who have opted for UPS a one-time, one-way switch back to NPS under certain conditions.

As per the rules:

Eligible employees must exercise the switch at least one year before superannuation or three months before voluntary retirement.
The facility is not available in cases of dismissal, compulsory retirement, or ongoing disciplinary proceedings.
Employees who remain in NPS cannot shift to UPS after September 30, 2025.

The Ministry stressed that the seminars aim to provide employees with “an informed choice” in managing their retirement security, ensuring clarity on timelines and options before the deadline.

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