Punjab govt considers restoring old pension plan for its employees

“My (Punjab) government is considering reverting to the old pension system,” Mann said in a tweet. “I have asked my chief secretary to study the feasibility and modalities of its implementation. We stand committed to the welfare of our employees.”

Punjab government is considering restoring old pension scheme for state government employees, chief minister Bhagwant Mann announced on Monday. Once implemented, the move is likely to benefit around 160,000 state staff that joined service after 2004.

Punjab government is considering restoring old pension scheme for state government employees, CM Bhagwant Mann said (Representative use)

“My government is considering reverting to the old pension system,” Mann said in a tweet. “I have asked my chief secretary to study the feasibility and modalities of its implementation. We stand committed to the welfare of our employees.”

Governments of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan have already made similar announcements regarding restoring old pension scheme.

The announcement comes ahead of the assembly elections later this year in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is working to find a toehold.

Restoration of the old pension scheme, which was discontinued in 2004, has been a major demand of the state government employees in Punjab. Ahead of the 2017 assembly elections, the AAP had promised to do away with the New Pension Scheme (NPS) — introduced by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in 2003 — and reintroduce the old pension scheme. Before the 2022 state assembly polls, the party reiterated its promise.

“Under the new scheme, employees have to contribute 10% of their basic salary and 14% is given by the employer,” Khekra explained. “This corpus is then invested by the pension body in various instruments, including mutual funds and shares, but it is no good as pension as what some NPS employees get is nowhere compared to the old scheme.”

Under the old scheme, pension of employees was decided on the basis of the last pay drawn.