8th Pay Commission To Make Recommendations On Pensions, Govt Says Amid Fears Of 'Exclusion'

The 8th Pay Commission will be making recommendations related to pensions of central government employees, the government said on Tuesday, amid fears of pensioners' exclusion expressed by various employee unions.

The statement was issued in response to a query raised in the Parliament. Rajya Sabha MPs Javed Ali Khan and Ramji Lal Suman asked the Centre to clarify whether the revision of pension of Central Government employees is not proposed under eighth CPC".

In his response, the Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said, "The Eighth CPC will make its recommendations on the various issues such as pay allowances, pension, etc. of the central government employees."

The concerns over pensioners being allegedly excluded from 8th Pay Commission's purview stems from difference in the Terms of Reference text, as compared to the ToR issued in 2014 following the approval granted for the 7th Pay Commission. Back then, the terms explicitly mentioned that the panel will look into the pension structure of employees who have already retired.

Here's what the ToR for 7th Pay Commission stated: "To exаmine the principles which should govern the structure of pension and other retirement benefits, including revision of pension in the case of employees who have retired prior to the date of effect of these recommendations, keeping in view that retirement benefits of all Central Government Employees appointed on and after 01.01.2004 are covered by the New Pension Scheme (NPS)."

This portion, however, is missing from the ToR for the 8th Pay Commission, which was notified by the Department of Expenditure on Nov. 3.

Notably, the 8th Pay Commission has been given an 18-month deadline by the Centre to submit its report. The recommendations will have an impact on around 1.1 crore central government employees and pensioners.