Three schemes, three managers
Most government employees in the NPS never pick a scheme. Their contributions go to a default: the Central Government scheme for central government staff, the State Government scheme for state staff, and Corporate CG for corporate subscribers on the government pattern of investment. Only three pension funds run these schemes, SBI, UTI and LIC, and only SBI and LIC run Corporate CG.
These are the oldest NPS schemes. The Central Government scheme's NAV starts on 1 April 2008, the State Government scheme's on 27 February 2009, and Corporate CG's on 1 November 2012, all at ₹10. We computed their returns from NPS Trust's NAVs to its latest NAV date, 8 October 2026, the same way as on our NPS returns page. Periods of a year or more are annualised.
The returns
| Scheme | Pension fund | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years | Since launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Govt | SBI | 0.18% | 6.55% | 6.01% | 7.46% | 9.02% |
| Central Govt | UTI | 0.15% | 6.76% | 6.08% | 7.54% | 8.87% |
| Central Govt | LIC | −0.12% | 6.59% | 6.04% | 7.48% | 8.88% |
| State Govt | SBI | 0.26% | 6.56% | 5.99% | 7.42% | 8.56% |
| State Govt | UTI | 0.19% | 6.79% | 6.10% | 7.50% | 8.63% |
| State Govt | LIC | −0.12% | 6.61% | 6.04% | 7.43% | 8.63% |
| Corporate CG | SBI | −0.11% | 6.44% | 5.90% | 7.40% | 8.57% |
| Corporate CG | LIC | −0.35% | 6.43% | 5.99% | 7.40% | 8.65% |
What stands out
The manager barely matters. Across all eight schemes, ten-year returns run from 7.40% to 7.54% a year and five-year returns from 5.90% to 6.10%. ₹1 lakh put into the Central Government scheme in April 2008 would be worth between ₹4.82 lakh (UTI) and ₹4.95 lakh (SBI) today. After eighteen and a half years, the best and worst managers are about ₹13,000 apart on that ₹1 lakh.
The latest year was flat. One-year returns run from −0.35% to 0.26%. Measured by calendar year, the Central Government scheme ended higher at all three managers in every year from 2009 to 2025. In 2026 so far it is down, by 0.65% at SBI, 1.10% at UTI and 1.36% at LIC.
The worst fall was a bond-market fall. The Central Government scheme's deepest drawdown came between 28 May and 19 August 2013, when bond yields jumped and its NAV fell 9.85% (LIC) to 11.76% (SBI). Our explainer on bond yields and bond prices covers why rising yields do that. In the equity crash of early 2020 the same schemes fell 5.6% to 6.6%, while the managers' Scheme E funds fell 36.6% to 39.6%.
The default against choosing your own mix
Government subscribers do not have to stay on the default. NPS Trust publishes a separate GS variant of Schemes E, C and G for government-sector subscribers, whose fund management fee is set on its own schedule. So the useful comparison is with the same three managers' own Tier I schemes:
| SBI, UTI and LIC, to 8 October 2026 | Central Govt | Scheme E | Scheme C | Scheme G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | −0.12% to 0.18% | −8.93% to −6.72% | 3.70% to 4.21% | 1.23% to 1.32% |
| 5 years | 6.01% to 6.08% | 6.25% to 7.82% | 6.15% to 6.41% | 5.77% to 5.86% |
| 10 years | 7.46% to 7.54% | 10.35% to 11.27% | 7.18% to 7.43% | 6.66% to 7.40% |
Each cell is the range across the three managers' POP variants, such as SBI's Scheme E and Scheme G.
The default sits where a mostly-bond portfolio with some equity would. NPS Trust's NAV files do not state its mix, so we estimated one. Fitting each scheme's daily NAV changes over the last three years against the same manager's E, C and G schemes explains 96% to 98% of the moves, with weights of roughly 16% to 18% in equity, 25% to 30% in corporate bonds and 47% to 52% in government bonds. That is a statistical fit, not a disclosed allocation, but it explains the pattern above: the default beat both bond schemes over ten years and trailed equity by about three to four points a year.
In money, ₹1 lakh held for the ten years to 8 October became ₹2.05 lakh to ₹2.07 lakh in the Central Government scheme and ₹2.68 lakh to ₹2.91 lakh in the same managers' Scheme E. The price of that extra growth was a fall of more than a third in 2020. Which side of that trade suits you depends on your years to retirement and on what else you hold; our post on Auto Choice and Active Choice sets out the options, and the NPS calculator projects either at a rate you choose.
Other government-linked schemes
- Unified Pension Scheme. Central government employees who chose the UPS are on separate schemes whose NAVs start on 31 March 2025. They have returned 0.56% (LIC) to 2.35% a year (SBI) since then, too short a record to judge.
- NPS Lite, the low-cost scheme on the government pattern, returned 7.37% to 7.53% a year over ten years across its four managers, in line with the schemes above; see SBI's.
- Tier II. Central government employees can also use the Tier II Tax Saver scheme, the one Tier II scheme with a deduction; our comparison of Tier I and Tier II returns covers it.
At exit, the rules differ
Government employees face a stricter exit than other subscribers. Under PFRDA's rules in force from 15 December 2025, they must still put at least 40% of the corpus into an annuity, so their lump sum tops out at 60%, all of it tax-free. Non-government subscribers can take up to 80%, though only 60% is tax-free; NPS at 60 works through what the extra slice costs. The annuity income is taxed at your slab every year, as annuities explained sets out, and the employer's contribution remains deductible under both tax regimes, as NPS tax benefits explains.
What this does not tell you
Returns are for each scheme's POP variant. Charges taken by cancelling units are not in the NAV, so an individual account earns slightly less. Three, five and ten years cover particular bond and equity cycles; a decade of falling yields or a weak equity market would reorder the comparison. The equity estimate is a fit to past NAV moves and will drift as managers change their holdings.
None of this is a recommendation to stay on the default or to leave it, or to prefer any pension fund. PFRDA's rules change; check the current position with your nodal office or NPS Trust before you act.
Frequently asked questions
Which pension fund is best for central government employees in NPS?
On returns there is little to choose. To 8 October 2026 the Central Government scheme returned 7.46% a year over ten years at SBI, 7.54% at UTI and 7.48% at LIC. ₹10 invested at its launch in April 2008 had grown to between ₹48.21 and ₹49.53.
How much equity is in the NPS Central Government scheme?
The NAV data does not state it. A statistical fit of the last three years' daily NAV moves against each manager's own Scheme E, C and G suggests roughly 16–18% equity, 25–30% corporate bonds and about half government bonds. Treat that as an estimate, not the scheme's stated allocation.
Why did the NPS government scheme return almost nothing this year?
In the year to 8 October 2026 it returned between −0.12% and 0.18%. Its equity slice fell with the market, as Scheme E lost 6.7% to 8.9% at the same three managers, and government bonds earned little, as Scheme G gained about 1.2% to 1.3%. Over five years it returned about 6% a year.
This is commentary on published data, not investment advice. WealthTicker is not a SEBI-registered adviser or distributor. Figures are WealthTicker’s own calculations from public data — AMFI’s fund NAVs and disclosures, NSE’s index and FII/DII files, and the fund houses’ monthly portfolios (how we calculate). They are as of the dates stated and can be revised by their source.
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