TechiBhaiPension Calculator
Estimate your monthly pension, family pension, and commutation lump sum under the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) or the new Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) — whichever applies to you.
OPS pension details
Runs entirely in your browser — nothing you enter is stored or transmitted.
Your pension result
How your pension is calculated
whichever higher) × min(1, Service ÷ 20)
Floor ₹9,000 · Ceiling ₹1,25,000
× min(1, Service ÷ 25)
Floor ₹10,000 (if service ≥ 10 yrs)
Enhanced = 50% of last basic
(first 7 yrs or till age 67)
Factor from age-next-birthday table
Restored after 15 years
How to use this calculator
Pick your scheme
OPS if you joined before 1 January 2004. UPS if you're an NPS subscriber who exercised the UPS option.
Enter pay and service
Your last drawn basic pay (OPS) or last 12 months' average (UPS), plus total qualifying service in years.
Review the results
See your monthly pension with DR, family pension, and — for OPS — your commutation lump sum if you choose to commute part of it.
This is an estimate, not an official figure. Your actual pension is finalised by your Head of Office, PAO and CPAO based on verified service records. Commutation factors shown are approximated from the officially notified CCS Commutation table — confirm your exact factor with your pension office before deciding.
OPS vs UPS vs NPS
Three different pension regimes exist for central government employees today, depending on when you joined and what you've opted for.
OPS — Old Pension Scheme
- Joined service before 1 January 2004
- Defined benefit: 50% of last pay, fully government-funded
- No employee contribution during service
- Fully DA/DR-indexed for life
- Commutable up to 40%, restored after 15 years
UPS — Unified Pension Scheme
- Optional for NPS subscribers from 1 April 2025 (opt-in window closed 30 Sept 2025)
- Assured pension: 50% of last 12 months' average basic, after 25 years' service
- Employee contributes 10% of Basic+DA; govt contributes ~18.5%
- Minimum ₹10,000/month pension with 10+ years service
- Family pension: 60% of employee's due pension
- Choice is irrevocable once exercised
NPS — National Pension System
- Default for all employees joining on/after 1 January 2004 who haven't opted for UPS
- Market-linked defined contribution — no guaranteed amount
- Employee 10% + government 14% of Basic+DA invested in market-linked funds
- At retirement: minimum 40% of corpus must buy an annuity; rest can be withdrawn
- Final pension depends entirely on market returns and annuity rates at retirement
Central government pension, explained
Which pension rules apply to you depends almost entirely on when you joined government service — and, since April 2025, on a choice you may have actively made. There are now three parallel systems running simultaneously across the central government workforce.
OPS: the defined-benefit legacy system
If you joined before 1 January 2004, you're covered by the Old Pension Scheme under the CCS (Pension) Rules. Your pension is calculated as 50% of your last drawn basic pay, or the average of your last 10 months' basic pay — whichever is more beneficial to you — provided you've completed the qualifying service for full pension (20 years; a reduced, proportionate pension is available from 10 years). The scheme requires no employee contribution during service, is entirely government-funded, and is indexed to Dearness Relief for life, meaning your purchasing power is protected the same way a serving employee's DA protects theirs.
UPS: a hybrid introduced in 2025
The Unified Pension Scheme, operational from 1 April 2025, was designed to bring back an assured-pension guarantee for employees who are technically under NPS. It offers 50% of the average basic pay over your last 12 months of service as a full pension after 25 years, with a minimum guaranteed pension of ₹10,000/month for anyone with at least 10 years of service. Unlike OPS, UPS requires an employee contribution — 10% of basic pay plus DA — matched by roughly 18.5% from the government (10% matching plus an additional pool contribution). The choice to move from NPS to UPS was a one-time, irrevocable decision, and the window to exercise it closed on 30 September 2025 for most existing employees.
NPS: the market-linked default
Anyone who joined on or after 1 January 2004 and did not opt into UPS remains under the standard National Pension System — a defined-contribution scheme where your eventual pension depends on how your invested corpus performs over your career, not a fixed formula. At retirement, a minimum 40% of the accumulated corpus must be used to purchase an annuity (the source of your monthly pension), while the rest can typically be withdrawn as a lump sum. Because NPS returns aren't guaranteed, this calculator doesn't attempt to project an NPS pension figure — that depends on assumptions about market performance decades into the future that are inherently uncertain.
Family pension
Under OPS, if a pensioner or serving employee dies, their family receives a family pension — normally 30% of the last basic pay (subject to a minimum), rising to an "enhanced" rate of 50% for the first seven years after death (or until what would have been the deceased's 67th birthday, whichever comes first), after which it reverts to the normal 30% rate. Under UPS, family pension is defined differently: a flat 60% of whatever pension the employee was drawing or entitled to.
Commutation: trading monthly pension for a lump sum
OPS pensioners can commute — convert — up to 40% of their basic pension into an immediate lump sum at retirement. The lump sum is calculated using an officially notified commutation factor based on your age at your next birthday after retirement, since younger retirees are actuarially expected to draw pension for longer. Whatever you commute is restored automatically after exactly 15 years, and critically, your Dearness Relief continues to be calculated on your full original pension throughout — the commutation only reduces the base amount you receive monthly, not the amount DR is calculated on.
Common mistakes
- Assuming NPS and UPS are the same thing. UPS is an optional guaranteed-pension alternative available only to NPS subscribers who actively opted in — staying in NPS means your pension remains market-linked.
- Forgetting UPS requires 25 years for full pension, not 20. OPS uses 20 years as the full-pension threshold; UPS uses 25.
- Not accounting for the commutation restoration period. The 15-year restoration is from the date you received the lump sum, not from your retirement date if there was a processing delay.
- Using the wrong "age" for the commutation factor. It's your age at your next birthday following the date commutation becomes effective, not your age at retirement.
Thinking through your retirement income
Run the commutation break-even yourself
Commuting 40% typically pays for itself in roughly 12–13 years of reduced pension. If your health and family history suggest a longer retirement, a smaller commutation percentage may leave you better off than the maximum.
UPS's irrevocability cuts both ways
Once chosen, UPS cannot be reversed back to NPS. If you're still eligible to choose and market conditions or your risk tolerance might change, that's worth weighing before treating the assured-pension guarantee as a strictly better option.
Family pension needs its own paperwork
Family pension isn't automatic on paper alone — nominees need to be registered correctly during service, and documentation gaps are a common reason family pension claims get delayed after a pensioner's death.
Commuted pension is tax-free either way
Whether you're under OPS or UPS, the commuted lump sum itself is exempt from income tax under Section 10(10A) — a genuine advantage over most other retirement lump sums, which are often partially taxable.
Frequently asked questions
Verify with primary sources
Want the full salary picture too?
See how basic pay, DA, HRA and TA combine under the proposed 8th Pay Commission — your pension will move with your revised basic pay.