Unified Pension Scheme: A New Dawn for Judicial Officers

The Supreme Court reviews the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), recently notified by the Centre, aiming to address pension concerns for district judiciary officers and retired high court judges. UPS assures a 50% pension of the average basic pay over the last 12 months before retirement for eligible employees.

The Supreme Court was apprised by the Centre about the recently notified Unified Pension Scheme, which seeks to address pension concerns for judicial officers. The submission was made in front of a bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih, with Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta representing the Centre.

This scheme, as explained, aims to resolve issues related to the New Pension Scheme's applicability to district judiciary officers. It offers an assured pension of 50% of the average basic pay drawn over the last 12 months before retirement. The court deferred the matter, deciding to observe the scheme's impact before moving forward.

The new notification issued by the finance ministry provides an option for 23 lakh Central government employees under the National Pension System to switch to the UPS, effective January 25. This change is significant for judicial officers, whose salary and pension concerns are being closely monitored by the court.