Big news is coming for government employees. The Ministry of Finance has constituted a committee to review the pension system for government employees. A committee has been constituted under the leadership of Finance Secretary TV Somanathan.
The committee will suggest whether any changes are necessary in the existing structure of the National Pension System (NPS) applicable to government employees. The committee will suggest modifications with a view to improve the pensionary benefits of government employees covered under NPS, keeping in view the fiscal implications and the overall budgetary impact.
4 members in the committee
Headed by Somanathan, the committee will have Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Special Secretary, Department of Expenditure and Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) as members.
Finance Minister had announced
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said last month that a committee headed by the Finance Secretary would look into pension related issues under NPS for government employees.
Employees organizations are demanding OPS restoration
This announcement has come in the backdrop of many non-BJP states restoring the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and employees organizations in some other states demanding the same. The state governments of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have requested to return the accumulated funds under NPS while notifying the Center about their decision to restore the old pension scheme.
The finance ministry had told Parliament last year that it was not considering any proposal to restore OPS in respect of central government employees recruited after January 1, 2004.
