The government employees of the country have been demanding the implementation of old pension for a long time and today the Finance Minister has announced this in a gathering. Come let’s know the whole news in detail
A major decision has been taken by the government on the demand of restoring the old pension scheme of government employees. The Finance Ministry has constituted a committee to review the Employees’ Pension System.
This committee has been constituted under the leadership of Finance Secretary TV Somanathan. This committee will suggest whether any changes are necessary in the existing structure of the National Pension System (NPS) applicable to government employees.
Formation of a committee headed by the Finance Secretary
The committee will give suggestions on revising it with a view to improve the pension benefits of the employees covered under NPS. The committee, headed by Somanathan, 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 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.
Decision after implementation of old pension from the states
This announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman comes after non-BJP states reinstated the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and employee organizations in some other states demanded it. The state governments of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have informed the Center about their decision to restore the old pension scheme (OPS).
These states have requested the central government to return the funds collected under NPS. The finance ministry 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.
