The Jammu and Kashmir government has allowed a defined group of employees covered by the National Pension System to make a one-time switch to the Old Pension Scheme, with applications open until December 28, 2026. The option covers employees appointed against posts or vacancies advertised or notified before December 24, 2009, but who joined service on or after January 1, 2010.
The decision was set out in a notification dated September 28, 2026. Employees who qualify and choose the Old Pension Scheme will not be permitted to switch back to the National Pension System. Those who do not exercise the option within the deadline will continue under the NPS, according to the notification reported by The Economic Times.
The policy addresses a recruitment-timing issue created when Jammu and Kashmir moved from the Old Pension Scheme to the NPS. The Union Territory’s notification of December 24, 2009, applied the new pension system to employees joining service on or after January 1, 2010. Some employees, however, were recruited through processes that had begun before the change was notified. Their argument was that the vacancies had been advertised when the Old Pension Scheme was still in force.
Eligible employees must submit their applications to the relevant Drawing and Disbursing Officer. The DDO will forward each request to the Head of Department or appointing authority, which will then send the case to the concerned administrative department. The administrative department will examine the employee’s eligibility under the instructions and issue the necessary order within a month, the report said.
The switch will also change how the employees’ pension contributions are administered. The National Pension System account of an eligible employee will be closed from the first day of the month following the month in which the Old Pension Scheme order is issued. Employees who move to the OPS will also be required to subscribe to the General Provident Fund.
The Jammu and Kashmir decision follows a dispute over whether a similar central government measure applied automatically to employees of the Union Territory. In an order dated March 3, 2023, the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare allowed eligible Central Government employees appointed against vacancies advertised before December 23, 2003, but joining on or after January 1, 2004, to make a one-time switch from the NPS to the OPS.
The J&K government sought clarification from the Ministry of Home Affairs in October 2024 on whether that central order covered its employees. In a letter dated December 6, 2024, the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare said its instructions were not automatically applicable to state or Union Territory employees because their service matters did not come under the department. It said the Jammu and Kashmir government and the relevant administrative department could decide whether such rules should apply to their employees.
The proposal was subsequently placed before the Jammu and Kashmir Council of Ministers on September 10, 2026, and was approved on the same day, according to the report. The administrative departments will now determine eligibility case by case, while employees covered by the notification have until December 28, 2026, to submit their option.
