Manipur state employees hired since 2005 can choose an assured pension from 1 April 2026, and get gratuity, cabinet approves
As reported by news outlets, the Manipur Cabinet on 5 November 2026 approved rules letting state employees who joined on or after 1 January 2005 opt for the Unified Pension Scheme, and rules giving NPS-covered employees retirement and death gratuity.
The Manipur Cabinet approved rules that let state government employees who joined service on or after 1 January 2005 choose an assured pension, and rules that give employees covered by the National Pension System (NPS) a legal right to retirement and death gratuity, according to news reports of its meeting on Thursday, 5 November 2026. The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) rules take effect from 1 April 2026, with an option deadline of 31 December 2026 for existing employees, as per Indian Opinion. The state government’s own release could not be found for this article.
What the terms mean
- NPS is the National Pension System, under which employees put in a share of pay and receive a pension that depends on market returns.
- UPS is the Unified Pension Scheme, an option under the NPS that promises an assured monthly pension instead of a market-linked one.
- Gratuity is a lump-sum payment from an employer to an employee at retirement or on death in service.
Who is covered and what the reports say
- Employees appointed on or after 1 January 2005 can choose an assured pension instead of the market-linked NPS pension. The rules take effect from 1 April 2026, the date a Finance Department notification of 3 February 2026 (as reported by KRC Times) set for adopting the scheme; that notification said detailed rules would follow. Northeast Live names the rules as the Manipur Civil Services (Implementation of the Unified Pension Scheme under the National Pension System) Rules, 2026.
- Employees with 25 years of qualifying service are eligible for a full assured monthly pension and a lump-sum payment. Those completing 20 years receive proportionate benefits. The reports also mention family pension and dearness relief (an allowance that adjusts pay for rising prices).
- Per Indian Opinion (and NE Now, which could not be opened for this check), employees contribute 10 per cent of basic pay plus dearness allowance, and the state government contributes 18.5 per cent.
- Indian Opinion reports that existing employees must exercise the option by 31 December 2026 and new recruits have 30 days from joining; Northeast Live does not mention a deadline.
- Gratuity rules extend retirement gratuity and death gratuity to NPS-covered employees appointed after 1 January 2005. NE Now says they cover employees under both the NPS and the UPS. Indian Opinion says they are modelled on the central rules of 2021 and make both gratuities a legal entitlement. Northeast Live calls them Gratuity Rules for Employees under the National Pension System.
What the reports do not say
None of the reports gives gratuity amounts or formulas, the assured pension percentage, or the effective date of the gratuity rules. The same meeting also approved about four acres of land at Wabagai for a Kendriya Vidyalaya in Kakching district, which is not covered here.
Basis of these figures
All points come from news reports: NE Now (published 6 November 2026), Northeast Live and Indian Opinion. The Manipur government’s release and the text of the rules could not be found, so nothing here has been checked against them. This article reports the decision and does not say which pension option suits any employee.