No Withdrawal Of 8th Pay Commission, DA Hike Benefits For Retired Employees — Govt Clarifies

The Central Government has dismissed a viral social media message claiming that retired government employees will stop receiving dearness allowance or DA hikes and future pay commission benefits under the Finance Act 2025.

This was a widely circulated claim that is fake, and the government has made no change to the post-retirement benefits for the vast majority of its pensioners.

The only recent change pertains to a very specific set of retirees under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021. The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare, in consultation with the Ministry of Finance and other departments, amended Rule 37(29C).

This amendment does not affect general retirement benefits, DA hikes, or Pay Commission revisions for regular pensioners. Instead, it applied to those in a specific scenario.

The actual amendment clarifies that for a former government employee who was absorbed into a PSU, their retirement benefits will be forfeited only if they are subsequently dismissed or removed from service by the PSU due to misconduct.

As stated in the amended rule: "...the dismissal or removal from service of the public sector undertaking of any employee after his absorption in such undertaking for any subsequent misconduct shall lead to forfeiture of the retirement benefits for the service rendered under the Government also..."

The misleading message, which included claims about the Finance Act 2025 overriding a 1982 Supreme Court judgment, is false. The image circulating, was debunked by the government’s official fact-checking arm. The original fake report falsely suggested that the government would not be responsible for maintaining benefits for those already retired.

This rule ensures accountability for misconduct among a specific group of former employees and does not a cut the benefits of majority of the general government pensioners.

The government clarification also comes days after the Centre approved the Terms of Reference for the 8th Pay Commission, with the panel being given an 18-month deadline to submit its report.