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OPS vs NPS vs UPS calculator

Compare your retirement payout under the Old Pension Scheme, the National Pension System, and the Unified Pension Scheme, side by side, from one set of figures.

Updated 19 August 2026

This calculator compares your retirement payout under the three pension schemes a central government employee can be on: the Old Pension Scheme, the National Pension System, and the Unified Pension Scheme. From one set of figures it works out the monthly pension, the dearness relief, the lump sum, and the family payout under each, side by side. The Old Pension Scheme and the Unified Pension Scheme are assured, a defined share of your final basic pay; the National Pension System is market-linked, so its figures use the return and annuity rate you assume. Enter your details below; the result updates as you type.

Calculator

Retirement is taken at 60.
Years of qualifying service by retirement.
Monthly basic pay now, not including DA.
Current DA rate, used for contributions and relief.
Yearly rise in basic pay to retirement.
NPS assumptions (affect the NPS estimate only)
Your Tier-I balance now, if any.
Assumed annual return on the corpus.
Assumed rate on the NPS annuity.

At retirementOPSOld Pension SchemeUPSUnified Pension SchemeNPSNational Pension System

OPS and UPS assure a pension against your final basic pay and get dearness relief; the NPS pension comes from an annuity bought with 40% of a market-linked corpus and does not get dearness relief. Gratuity is paid separately under all three. OPS applies to those who joined before 1 January 2004; NPS and UPS to those who joined on or after that date. NPS figures are illustrative.

Pension in hand, side by side

The monthly pension each scheme puts in your hand at retirement, with dearness relief where it applies.

What the calculator compares

The calculator takes your age, your total qualifying service at 60, your current basic pay and dearness allowance, the expected growth in your pay, and three NPS assumptions, and it computes the retirement payout under each scheme from the same figures.

The comparison table shows, for each scheme, the monthly pension, the dearness relief on it, the pension in hand, the lump sum at retirement, whether the pension is assured, what you contribute, and the family pension. The bar chart below plots the pension in hand under the three schemes so the difference is visible at a glance, and the verdict states the trade-off in words.

The three schemes

The Old Pension Scheme is a non-contributory defined benefit, closed to those who joined on or after 1 January 2004. It pays 50% of the final basic pay as pension, with dearness relief, from the government’s budget, and the employee pays nothing towards it during service.

The National Pension System is a contributory, market-linked scheme, mandatory for those who joined on or after 1 January 2004. The employee pays 10% and the government 14% of basic pay plus dearness allowance into a corpus, which is invested; at retirement up to 60% is taken tax-free and at least 40% buys an annuity that pays the pension. There is no assured amount.

The Unified Pension Scheme is the assured option within NPS, available from 1 April 2025. It keeps the contributory structure but assures a payout of 50% of the last 12 months’ average basic pay for 25 years of service, proportionate below that, with dearness relief and a lump sum at retirement.

How each figure is worked out

The calculator first projects your final basic pay at 60 by growing your current basic pay at the rate you enter, capped at the Rs. 2,50,000 apex, since no basic pay exceeds it. The Old Pension Scheme pension is 50% of that final basic pay, subject to the Rs. 9,000 floor and the Rs. 1,25,000 ceiling. The Unified Pension Scheme payout is 50% of the same final basic pay, scaled by your service over 25 years where it is under 25, with a Rs. 10,000 floor, plus a lump sum of one-tenth of the final basic pay and dearness allowance for each completed six months of service. Both the OPS and UPS pensions carry dearness relief at the rate you enter.

The National Pension System figure is a projection. The calculator accumulates 24% of your basic pay plus dearness allowance each month, growing with your pay, adds any corpus you already hold, and compounds it at your assumed return to 60. It then takes 60% as a tax-free lump sum and buys an annuity with 40%, paying a pension at your assumed annuity rate. That annuity is level and does not get dearness relief.

A worked example

Take an employee aged 35 with 33 years of total service at 60, a current basic pay of Rs. 70,000, dearness allowance at 60%, the rate fixed with effect from 1 January 2026 by Department of Expenditure OM No. 1/1(i)/2026-E.II(B) dated 22 April 2026, pay growth of 5%, no existing NPS corpus, an 8% return, and a 6% annuity.

Over the 25 years to 60 the basic pay grows to about Rs. 2,37,000. The Old Pension Scheme pays 50% of that, about Rs. 1,18,500 a month, and with 60% dearness relief about Rs. 1,89,600 in hand. The Unified Pension Scheme, with more than 25 years of service, pays the same 50%, about Rs. 1,18,500, and the same in hand, plus a lump sum of about Rs. 25 lakh. The National Pension System projects a corpus of about Rs. 4 crore, of which 60%, over Rs. 2.4 crore, is a tax-free lump sum, and 40% buys an annuity paying about Rs. 80,000 a month, without dearness relief. The comparison makes the trade-off plain: the assured schemes pay a higher, inflation-linked pension, while NPS trades a lower, level pension for a large tax-free corpus.

Notes and scope

The comparison is a what-if for an employee retiring at 60, not a statement of which scheme you are on, which is fixed by your date of joining. The NPS figures are illustrative and depend on the return and annuity rate, which are not guaranteed; the OPS and UPS figures assume the standard 50% formula and full qualifying service. Gratuity is payable under all three schemes and is not shown here, since it does not differ between them in a way this comparison captures. For the detail of each scheme, use the Rule 44 pension calculator, the UPS payout calculator, and the NPS corpus calculator, and see the central government pension article.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Which is better, OPS, NPS or UPS?
The Old Pension Scheme and the Unified Pension Scheme both assure about 50% of your final basic pay with dearness relief. The Old Pension Scheme costs you nothing; the Unified Pension Scheme costs 10% but adds a lump sum. The National Pension System assures nothing but can build a large tax-free corpus.
Do OPS and UPS give the same pension?
The monthly figure is close, both about 50% of your final basic pay, so the calculator often shows them within a few rupees. They differ in funding: OPS is non-contributory and paid from the budget, while UPS is contributory and corpus-backed, and UPS adds a lump sum at retirement that OPS does not.
Why is the NPS pension lower?
Under NPS only 40% of the corpus buys the annuity that pays the pension, and the annuity does not get dearness relief, so the monthly figure is usually lower than the assured OPS and UPS pensions. NPS makes up ground with a large 60% tax-free lump sum, which the comparison shows.
Can I choose which scheme I am on?
It depends on when you joined. Employees who joined before 1 January 2004 are on the Old Pension Scheme. Those who joined on or after that date are on the National Pension System and may opt for the Unified Pension Scheme from 1 April 2025. The comparison is a what-if across all three.
Which schemes pay a lump sum at retirement?
The Unified Pension Scheme pays a lump sum of one-tenth of monthly emoluments per completed six months of service, and the National Pension System lets you take up to 60% of the corpus tax-free. The Old Pension Scheme has no separate lump sum; you can only get one by commuting part of the pension, which reduces it.
Does the comparison include dearness relief?
Yes, where it applies. The OPS and UPS pensions carry dearness relief, revised twice a year, so the figures shown in hand include it. The NPS annuity is level and does not get dearness relief, which is a key difference over a long retirement and is why the NPS pension in hand does not rise.

External references

References

  1. CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021, Rule 44: Old Pension Scheme pension at 50% of emoluments, minimum Rs. 9,000, maximum Rs. 1,25,000.
  2. Dearness allowance and dearness relief 60% with effect from 1 January 2026, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, Office Memorandum No. 1/1(i)/2026-E.II(B) dated 22 April 2026.
  3. PFRDA (Operationalisation of the Unified Pension Scheme under NPS) Regulations, 2025: assured payout 50% of the last 12 months’ average basic pay times qualifying-service months over 300, minimum Rs. 10,000, family payout 60%, lump sum under Regulation 14.
  4. CCS (Implementation of NPS) Rules, 2021, and Ministry of Finance notification of 31 January 2019: employee 10% and government 14% of basic pay plus DA; PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals) Regulations, 2015, up to 60% lump sum and at least 40% annuity at superannuation.
  5. Income-tax Act, 1961, Section 10(12A), exempting the NPS lump sum of up to 60% of the corpus.