Page 5 - Pension Scheme

Supreme Court caps maximum pensionable salary at Rs 15,000 under EPS

Order gives employees four months to join

SC allows 4-month time for employees under EPS to opt for increased pension

Eligible employees who had not opted for enhanced pension coverage prior to 2014 can jointly do so with their employers within the next four months after the Supreme Court upheld the Employees' Pension (Amendment) Scheme, 2014. Employees who were existing EPS members as on September 1, 2014 can contribute up to 8.33 per cent of their 'actual' salaries -- as against 8.33 per cent of the pensionable salary capped at Rs 15,000 a month -- towards pension. The court on Friday struck down the requirement in the 2014 amendments mandating employee contribution of 1.16 per cent of the salary exceeding Rs 15,000 per month. This will facilitate the subscribers to contribute higher to the scheme and get enhanced benefits accordingly. Trade unions have demanded that the government call an extraordinary meeting of the central board of trustees of the retirement fund body EPFO for quick implementation of the apex court order. The Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952

Punjab: 90,248 deceased beneficiaries of pension schemes identified

A survey of beneficiaries of various pension schemes in Punjab found 90,248 of such beneficiaries as deceased, said an official statement here. The Department of Social Security, Women and Child Development conducted the survey of a total of 30.46 lakh beneficiaries in Punjab, out of which 90,248 deceased beneficiaries were identified. By identifying the deceased beneficiaries, the government will save Rs 13.53 crore per month or Rs 162.36 crore annually, said Baljit Kaur, minister for social security, women and child development, in the statement. The minister said with the identification of 90,248 deceased beneficiaries, financial loss of the government has stopped and the amount will be spent to help other needy people. The minister further said the electronic benefit transfer (EBT) scheme will be implemented to pay pension to the beneficiaries.

Bank employees' unions call for restoration of old pension scheme

Submit charter of demand for wage revision as part of 12th bipartite settlement

Punjab announces to restore old pension scheme for state govt employees

The Punjab government on Friday decided to restore the old pension scheme for its employees, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann terming it a Diwali gift for the state staff. "We have taken an in-principle decision to this effect in a cabinet meeting. This will benefit lakhs of employees," he said while adding that modalities will be worked out. Mann said the approval for six per cent dearness allowance for government employees has also been given by the state cabinet. The restoration of the old pension scheme, which was discontinued in 2004, has been one of the major demands of state government employees. The state government's decision has come ahead of the Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat Assembly polls, where AAP is trying its luck and had promised to restore the old pension scheme for state government employees if voted to power. Mann said the employee's demand has been met now and it's a Diwali gift for them. "Arvind Kejriwal has told that we say (promise) we have to deliver and

'Old pension scheme to be restored in Punjab, will do same in Gujarat, HP'

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday congratulated government employees in Punjab after the state cabinet gave its nod to the restoration of the old pension scheme and promised that the AAP would do so in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, if it is voted to power in the upcoming polls. The old pension scheme should be restored and implemented all over the country, he said, terming the new pension scheme unfair. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor's promise to the state government employees of the poll-bound Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh came after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced his government's decision to restore old pension scheme. "We had promised that we would implement the old pension scheme in Punjab. Today Bhagwant Mann fulfilled the promise. Congratulations to all the employees of Punjab, Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi. The old pension scheme should be restored and implemented all over the country, he said. "If the people of Himachal Pradesh a

HP CM Thakur should clarify why BJP is against old pension scheme: Gehlot

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot Wednesday said his Himachal Pradesh counterpart Jai Ram Thakur should clarify "why the BJP is against old pension scheme" which gives social security to government employees. Gehlot said his government has restored the old pension scheme in the state from April 4, 2022. For this, necessary changes have been made in the pension rules, he said. "Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has made an unfortunate statement that the old pension scheme has not been implemented in Rajasthan. "After the implementation of the old pension scheme in Rajasthan, pension cases of more than 100 personnel have been settled," he said in a statement. Thakur should remember that then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's NDA government had introduced the New Pension Scheme (NPS) replacing the old pension scheme for personnel appointed on and after January 1, 2004, "which created a feeling of insecurity among the employees and they started worrying about the .

Retirees can now opt to continue with 'default' investment plan under NPS

After the new rule kicks in, retirees will be able to choose to continue with the existing plan or choose a new PFM and investment plan

BS Number Wise: Old scheme puts burden of employee pension on the states

Some governments are seeking short-term benefits to finance their bills, risking their financial security

Fixed investment tenor of 10 years under guaranteed return scheme: PFRDA

Only those investors who remain invested for 10 years will get a guaranteed return and if the actual return falls below the assured amount, pension fund managers shall bridge the gap

Govt employees' pension: 'Old versus new' debate gathers momentum

Reverting to OPS is being considered an easier option from a political standpoint, but could financially stress the states

EPFO calls for increasing retirement age to ease pressure on pension funds

The EPFO has almost 60 million subscribers and it has a cumulative pension and provident fund corpus of more than Rs 12 trillion

Supreme Court hears the validity of pension scheme amendment

The pensioners had earlier informed the apex court that asking the employees to contribute 1.16% for salaries above Rs 15k was against Employees' Provident Funds And Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952

EPFO in a jam: Why meaningful pension reforms are not moving ahead

Instead of reforms, in many ways, 2022 is showing signs of walk back on pension reforms

J'khand cabinet approves old pension scheme, 100 units free power for poor

Besides, the cabinet gave its approval to the proposal of giving additional Rs 27 as MGNREGS wage. With this, an MGNREGA worker in Jharkhand will get Rs 237 as minimum wage.

Eknath Shinde restores Emergency pension scheme scrapped by Thackeray govt

The scheme, which was introduced by the Devendra Fadnavis government in 2018, was scrapped by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) dispensation in 2020

PFRDA pension scheme subscribers up 24% to 53.2 million by May end

Atal Pension Yojana (APY) -- the highest contributor to the subscriber base -- registered a growth of 31.6 per cent to 37.2 million by end of May this fiscal year.

Chhattisgarh becomes first state to restore old pension scheme: Report

The government issued a notification saying that the old pension scheme will be effective from April 1, 2022

Private sector to drive growth of PFRDA pension schemes: Study paper

The private sector is expected to drive growth of the NPS, which has witnessed exponential rise over the last five years, in terms of number of subscribers as well as assets under management

Reform reversal

States should not go back on pensions