How many years of service are needed for VRS?

20 years of qualifying service under Rule 43 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021, and 20 years for NPS and UPS members under their own rules. FR 56(k) also allows retirement at 50 or 55, depending on your group and age at entry.

Is pension reduced if I take VRS?

For old pension members, the rate is not reduced: pension is 50% of last pay (or the 10-month average) once you have at least 10 years of qualifying service. You lose the pay rises and extra gratuity you would have earned by staying.

When does the UPS payout start after VRS?

From the date you would have superannuated, not from the VRS date. The payout is proportionate: years of qualifying service divided by 25.

Can I withdraw my VRS notice?

Only with the specific approval of the appointing authority, and the request must reach it at least 15 days before the intended date of retirement.

Voluntary retirement: pension and benefits for central government employees

Updated 11 October 2026

A central government employee can retire voluntarily after 20 years of qualifying service by giving three months' written notice to the appointing authority. Members of the old pension scheme start drawing pension at once, at 50% of last pay, along with commutation, gratuity and leave encashment. NPS and UPS members follow their own rules, and under UPS the monthly payout starts only from the date you would have superannuated.

The routes to early retirement

Route	Who	Condition
Rule 43, CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021	Old pension scheme	20 years' qualifying service, 3 months' notice
FR 56(k)	All groups	Age 50 for Group A and B officers who joined before 35; age 55 for others; 3 months' notice
Rule 12, CCS (Implementation of NPS) Rules, 2021	NPS	20 years' service, 3 months' notice
CCS (Implementation of UPS under NPS) Rules, 2025	UPS	20 years' service; the full payout needs 25

FR 56(j), under which the government retires an employee in the public interest, is not voluntary and is not covered here.

Notice, acceptance and withdrawal

The notice needs acceptance, but if the authority does not refuse it before the notice period ends, retirement takes effect on that date.
You can ask for a shorter notice period, and the authority may agree if it causes no administrative difficulty.
Permission can be withheld if you are under suspension, or if disciplinary or judicial proceedings are pending against you.
Once given, the notice can be withdrawn only with the authority's specific approval, requested at least 15 days before the intended date.

What old pension members get

Pension: 50% of last basic pay or of the average of the last 10 months, whichever is more, within the minimum of ₹9,000 and maximum of ₹1,25,000 a month. Dearness Relief is added.
Commutation: up to 40% of pension can be exchanged for a lump sum, using the factor for your age next birthday. The younger you are, the higher the factor. The commuted part is restored after 15 years.
Gratuity: one-quarter of basic pay plus DA for each completed six months of service, up to 16.5 times, with a ceiling of ₹25 lakh.
Leave encashment: earned leave up to 300 days, at basic pay plus DA ÷ 30 per day.

Worked example. Suresh takes VRS at 50 with 24 years of qualifying service and last basic pay of ₹1,00,000, plus DA at 60% (₹60,000). Pension: 50% of ₹1,00,000 = ₹50,000 a month. Commuting 40% (₹20,000) at the factor of 8.808 for age 51 gives ₹20,000 × 12 × 8.808 = ₹21,13,920. His monthly credit becomes the reduced pension of ₹30,000 plus Dearness Relief of ₹30,000 (60% of the full ₹50,000), or ₹60,000. Gratuity: 24 years is 48 six-monthly periods, so ¼ × ₹1,60,000 × 48 = ₹19,20,000, below the ₹25 lakh ceiling. Leave encashment for 300 days: ₹1,60,000 ÷ 30 × 300 = ₹16,00,000.

NPS members

NPS employees can take VRS under Rule 12 after 20 years of service. In an October 2024 clarification, DoPPW said such retirees get NPS benefits similar to those retiring on superannuation, with the option to keep the account going or defer withdrawal. In practice that points to the superannuation exit rules: up to 60% of the corpus as a lump sum and at least 40% in an annuity, with full withdrawal for small balances. See NPS withdrawal rules. NPS employees also get retirement gratuity and leave encashment.

UPS members

The Unified Pension Scheme rules notified on 2 September 2025 allow VRS after 20 years of qualifying service, where the original scheme needed 25. The assured payout is proportionate, years of service divided by 25, and it starts from the date you would have superannuated, not from the VRS date. The lump sum, one-tenth of monthly basic pay plus DA for every completed six months of service, is reported to be payable at the time of VRS.

Worked example. Priya, a UPS member, takes VRS after 22 years. Her average basic pay over the last 12 months is ₹1,00,000, so the full assured payout would be 50%, or ₹50,000. Her proportionate payout is ₹50,000 × 22 ÷ 25 = ₹44,000 a month, plus Dearness Relief, starting from the date she would have reached 60.

Before you apply

Confirm your exact qualifying service with your office, because breaks and non-qualifying periods can leave you short of 20 years.
Compare an immediate pension under the old scheme with the deferred payout under UPS.
Pensioners can keep CGHS cover; see CGHS.
Pension is taxable, while commutation, gratuity and leave encashment are tax-free for government employees; see tax on retirement lump sums.
Pensions are usually revised when a pay commission is implemented, so the 8th Pay Commission still matters after you retire.

Estimate your figures with the pension calculator, gratuity calculator and leave encashment calculator, and read pension commutation and UPS vs NPS. The rules are on the DoPPW website.