The Indian government on Tuesday assured its retired employees there was no move to stop their pensions after they reached 75 years of age.
"Government wishes to make it clear that there is no such move. The rumours and inferences are baseless and must be ignored," an official statement said.
"Government has for some time been receiving inquiries about a rumour moved on the part of the government to stop payment of pension after 75 years of age of the pensioners. It is surmised that such apprehensions have arisen from fictionalised versions of some remarks attributed to the finance minister, carried in the newspaper Star of Mysore on July 2, 2005," the statement added.
There are an estimated 3.54 million pensioners in India. Fifty per cent of them served in the armed forces, 24 per cent in the railways, 19 per cent in the civil sector, four per cent in the postal department and three per cent in the telecom sector.
The Indian government's pension bill for 2000-01, the last year for which reliable data is available, was Rs.210 billion ($4.6 billion).
For government employees who retire after 20 years of service, pension is calculated on the average of basic pay drawn in the last 10 months of service. For employees who retire after 33 years of service, pension is 50 per cent of the last basic pay drawn.
{{/usCountry}}For government employees who retire after 20 years of service, pension is calculated on the average of basic pay drawn in the last 10 months of service. For employees who retire after 33 years of service, pension is 50 per cent of the last basic pay drawn.
{{/usCountry}}Currently, the minimum pension is Rs 1,275 per month and the maximum Rs 15,000 per month.