Report by Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC) correspondent
On 18 November 2022, the Punjab government agreed to the demand of state government employees about the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). It is expected to benefit about 1,75,000 employees who are currently covered under the New Pension Scheme (NPS).
Under the OPS, an employee on retirement gets an assured pension of 50% of the last drawn salary, with the cost-of-living adjustment. NPS is a contributory scheme under which an employee pays 10% of salary towards the Scheme and the government contributes by paying 14%; however, the pension depends on the return earned by the corpus. As the corpus is invested in bonds and shares, the returns are uncertain and so is the amount of pension. Many retired employees have complained that the pension received under the NPS is not even enough to cover their electricity and other monthly bills!
Prior to Punjab government, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan governments have restored the OPS.
