8th Pay Commission: Pensioners Fear missing benefits & 7th CPC promises - Reports
Over 69 lakh central pensioners fear the 8th Pay Commission (8th CPC) may exclude crucial benefits from the 7th CPC, specifically pension revision for pre-2026 retirees. AIDEF demands amending the 8th CPC's Terms of Reference to ensure continuity of these promised pension benefits, as their absence raises significant concerns among the pensioner community regarding their financial security.
New Delhi: Sixty nine lakh central pensioners and family pensioners of the country are worried at this time, because they are fearing that the benefits of the 8th Pay Commission (8th CPC) might be exempted from them. This apprehension has increased because the central government has recently issued the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 8th CPC, which does not include many such points which were in the interest of pensioners in the 7th Pay Commission (7th CPC).
After the ToR issued for the three-member commission constituted under the Chairmanship of Justice Ranjan Desai came out, questions are being raised among employees and pensioners about how the role and benefits of pensioners will be decided in the new structure.
According to new reports, AIDEF (All India Defence Employees Federation) cited the 7th Pay Commission Rules (ToR). The 7th commission clearly stated how pension and retirement benefits should be structured. At the same time, there was talk of increasing the old pension of those employees who had retired before the implementation of the new recommendations. But it was also said that the pension of employees who join the job on 1 January 2004 or later will remain in the New Pension Scheme (NPS).
Now, AIDEF is reportedly saying that all these things are missing in the 8th pay commission rules. Therefore, the promise of increasing the pension of old retired employees should be made in the 8th commission as well, as it was in the 7th commission. In simple terms, there was a promise to increase the old pension in the 7th pay commission, which was missed in the 8th. AIDEF is asking to put it back.
8th Pay Commission: What is the demand of AIDEF?
AIDEF demands that the government also include the terms of the 7th Central Pay Commission (7th CPC) in the 8th Central Pay Commission (8th CPC). He says that the ToR should be amended, so that provision can be made to re-fix the pension of those employees who have retired before the date of implementation of the 8th Pay Commission i.e. 01.01.2026. It also includes suggestions like 5 percent pension increase every five years.
Benefits received in 7th Pay Commission
- According to information from Cleartax. The minimum wage started from Rs 18,000 per month. The maximum salary was fixed at Rs 2,25,000 per month.
- For top posts like cabinet secretary and equivalent level, the salary started at Rs 2,50,000 per month.
- The new pay scale was achieved by applying a uniform factor of 2.57 in the salary of all existing employees.
- The annual wage growth rate will be 3 percent, as was the case in the Sixth Pay Commission.
- Also, these special things were included in the seventh pay commission for pensioners.
Key points related to pension
- The pension was revised to bring equality in the pensions of civil and defence personnel (including CAPFs).
- The method of calculating the revised pension was also revised.
- Slab based system for calculating disability pension has been implemented.
- Revision in the amount of compensation to be paid to the next of kin in case of death on duty.
- Now pensioners fear that they will not get this benefit in the 8th pay commission.