Introduction – Category of Pensioners : Chapter 1 of 110th Report of Parliamentary Committee on Pensioner’s Grievances

Introduction – Category of Pensioners : Chapter 1 of 110th Report of Parliamentary Committee on Pensioner’s Grievances

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.0 The Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice has taken up the subject ‘Pensioner’s Grievances- Impact of Pension Adalats and Centralized Pensioners Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPENGRAMS)’ for detailed examination. The Committee attaches paramount importance to the concerns of the elderly. The Committee acknowledges the contribution of retired personnel to nation building and holds them in high esteem.

1.1 The Committee observes that retirees are made to run from pillar to post for redressal of their pension related grievances. Hence, the Committee has embarked on a mission to identify core grievance prone areas and suggest reforms. The Committee held a series of meetings with the Secretary of Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare, Controller General of Accounts and representatives of Pensioners’ Associations and deliberated intensely on pensioners’ Grievances.

1.2 ‘Pension’ is an essential component of the social safety net. It is a means to smoothen life sustenance and maintain standard of living after retirement. Traditionally, old age income security in India has been provided by the joint family system, which was ingrained in the Indian ethos. However, the joint family system has been gradually disintegrating due to urbanization, occupational diversification and emergence of nuclear families and this, in turn, is increasing the dependency of the elderly on pension.

1.3 Pension systems have been reformed in many countries around the world during the last three decades to make them fiscally sustainable and to expand coverage across occupational groups and income spectrum. India has also made a shift to defined contribution funded pension system called National Pension system (NPS) in 2004.

Read also: Standing Committee Report Summary on Pension Grievances: Recommendations on CPENGRAMS, CGEGIS, Additional Pension, Medical Facilities, Provisional Pension & Family Pension

1.4 The present Indian pension landscape, by and large, comprises such pensions as Civil Service Pension Schemes for the Central and state government employees who joined the service before 2004; Employee’s pension scheme administered by Employees’ Provident Fund Organization for the notified establishments both in public and private sector employing 20 or more employees; Occupational Pension Schemes run by public sector enterprises; National Pension Scheme applicable to central government employees (except for the armed forces) joining service on or after January 1, 2004 among others.

1.5. Department of Pensions and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions is the nodal Department for formulation of policy and coordination of matters relating to retirement benefits to Central Government Employees including pensions. The Acts and Rules/Regulations administered by the Department include Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972; Central Civil Services (Commutation of Pension) Rules, 1981; Central Civil Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939; General Provident Fund (Central Services) Rules, 1960; Contributory Provident Fund (India) Rules, 1962; and Payment of Arrears of Pension (Nomination) Rules, 1983.

1.6. The ‘Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972’ regulate pensionary benefits of civil Government servants (including defence civilians). Under the ‘Central Civil Services (Commutation of Pension) Rules, 1981’, a pensioner can commute not more than 40 percent of his pension for a lump sum amount. The pensionary benefits on death or disability of civil Government servants during the performance of duty and attributable to Government service, are governed by the ‘Central Civil Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939.’

Read also: Effectiveness of CPENGRAMS and Pension Adalats – Way Forward: Chapter 2 of of 110th Report of Parliamentary Committee on Pensioner’s Grievances

1.7. As the pension process is decentralised in India, various Ministries/Departments are involved in the management and disbursement of pensions. The details in this regard are as under:-

(i) Civil Pensioners belonging to Central Civil Services are governed by CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 framed and notified by Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare. Pensioners belonging to All India Services (i.e. Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service) are governed by AIS (Death-cum Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958 framed and notified by Department of Personnel & Training. Civil pensioners of all Ministries/Departments come under the Accounting jurisdiction of Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure). The responsibility for maintaining the data and accounts of expenditure on pension/family pension in respect of such pensioners (excluding Postal and Telecom pensioners) vests with the Central Pension Accounting Office (CPAO), under the CGA. The pensioners belonging to all the CAPFs (viz. BSF, CRPF, Assam Rifles, SSB, CISF and ITBP) under MHA are included in this category.

(ii) Defence Pensioners (other than Defence Civilian Pensioners) are governed by the Pension Rules and Regulations framed by Ministry of Defence and respective Armed Forces Organisations. Defence Civilian pensioners are, however, covered under CCS (Pension) Rules 1972 framed and notified by Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare. The data and accounts, of all Defence pensioners (including defence civilian pensioners) are maintained by Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) / Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pension) under Ministry of Defence.

(iii) Railway Pensioners are governed by the Pension Rules framed, notified and administered by Ministry of Railways. The data and accounts of these pensioners are also maintained by Ministry of Railways.

(iv) Telecom Pensioners are governed by the CCS (Pension) Rules 1972 framed and notified by Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare. However, the data and accounts of these pensioners are maintained by Department of Telecommunications (and not by CPAO).

(v) Postal Pensioners are governed by the CCS (Pension) Rules 1972 framed and notified by Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare. However, the data and accounts of these pensioners are maintained by Department of Posts (and not by CPAO).

Read also: Grievances pertaining to Pension Policy, Pension Structure and other Retirement Benefits: Chapter 3 of 110th Report of Parliamentary Committee on Pensioner’s Grievances

1.8. Apart from the above, there are various others types of Pensions which are handled/ monitored by the different Ministries/departments. The details are as follows:

(i) President of India – Presidents’ Secretariat;

(ii) Vice President of India – Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs;

(iii) Pension for Hon’ble Judges of Supreme Court & High Court of India– Department of Justice;

(iv) Pension for Hon’ble Member of Parliament of India- Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs;

(v) Atal Pension Yojana– Department of Financial Services;

(vi) Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995/EPF – Ministry of Labour/ EPFO;

(vii) Pension for Freedom Fighters – Ministry of Home Affairs;

(viii) Pension to State Government Employees – Respective State Governments;

(ix) Pension under National Social Assistance Programme, i.e. Old age Pension, widow pension, disability pension, family pension for BPL – Ministry of Rural Development; and

(x) Pension to the employees of PSUs/Autonomous Bodies –Concerned Administrative Ministry/Department/PSU/Autonomous Body.

1.9. The approximate number of Central Government Pensioners (including family pensioners) as on 31.03.2020 is as follows:

Read also:  Grievances pertaining to Authorization, sanction and processing of pension: Chapter 4 of 110th Report of Parliamentary Committee on Pensioner’s Grievances

1.10 As per the data furnished by Central Pension Accounting Office (CPAO), the total number of civil pensioners under the old pension scheme as on 01.12.2020 is 10,35, 228.The break-up of the number of the pensioners categorized by age group & Category is as under:

(As on 01.12.2020)

Read also: Grievances pertaining to disbursement of pension: Chapter 5 of 110th Report of Parliamentary Committee on Pensioner’s Grievances

View: Pensioner’s Grievances-Impact of Pension Adalats and CPENGRAMS: 110th Report by Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice