08/08/2016
Center forms panel to study enhanced allowance for retired employees
To examine fixed medical allowance from Rs. 500 per month and increasing `Constant Daily Allowance’, paid to those with 100 p.c. disability, from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 6750 per month.
The Union government has constituted a high-level
committee to examine enhancement of `Constant Daily Allowance’, paid to
retired employees with 100 per cent disability where the person is
completely dependent on somebody else for day-to-day functions, from Rs.
3,000 to Rs. 6750 per month and fixed medical allowance to retired
employees from Rs. 500 per month.
Constant Daily
Allowance is paid only if disability is attributable to or aggravated
during the course of service. A notification issued by the Department of
Personnel and Pensions said that the Committee would also examine the
`fitment formula’ on revision of pension.
Follow-up to CPC recommendations
The
decision is a follow-up to the recommendations of the Seventh Central
Pay Commission which among other issues had examined the principles
which should govern the structure of pension and other retirement
benefits.
On Fixed Medical Allowances, the Commission
had noted that it was enhanced from Rs.300 per month to Rs.500 per
month from November 2014 and hence further enhancement of this allowance
is not recommended. However the government has decided that it be
examined by a Committee comprising Finance Secretary and Secretary
(Expenditure) as Chairman and Secretaries of Home Affairs, Defence,
Posts, Health & Family Welfare, Personnel & Training and
Chairman, Railway Board as Members. Till a final decision is taken based
on the recommendations of the Committee, Fixed Medical Allowance shall
be paid at existing rates.
Constant Attendance Allowance
On
Constant Attendance Allowance, the Commission had recommended that it
may be increased by a factor of 1.5 i.e. to Rs. 6,750 per month. It had
said that the allowance needs further increase by 25 per cent each time
DA rises by 50 per cent.
The government has decided
that it would be examined by a Committee comprising Finance Secretary
and Secretary (Expenditure) as Chairman and Secretaries of Home Affairs,
Defence, Posts, Health & Family Welfare, Personnel & Training
and Chairman, Railway Board as Members. Till a final decision is taken
based on the recommendations of the Committee, Constant Attendance
Allowance shall be paid at existing rates.
Revision of pension
On
revision of Pension, the Commission recommended two formulas. It had
said that pension for all the civilian personnel including Central Armed
Police Forces (CAPF) shall first be fixed in the Pay Matrix being
recommended by this Commission, on the basis of the Pay Band and Grade
Pay at which they retired, at the minimum of the corresponding level in
the matrix.
This amount shall be raised, to arrive at
the notional pay of the retiree, by adding the number of increments he /
she had earned in that level while in service, at the rate of three per
cent. Fifty per cent of the total amount so arrived at shall be the
revised pension.
Second calculation
The
second calculation to be carried out is as follows. The pension, as had
been fixed at the time of implementation of the VI CPC recommendations,
shall be multiplied by 2.57 to arrive at an alternate value for the
revised pension.
“Pensioners may be given the option
of choosing whichever formulation is beneficial to them. It is
recognized that the fixation of pension as per formulation in (i) above
may take a little time since the records of each pensioner will have to
be checked to ascertain the number of increments earned in the retiring
level. It is therefore recommended that in the first instance the
revised pension may be calculated as at (ii) above and the same may, be
paid as an interim measure. In the event calculation as per (i) above
yields a higher amount, the difference may be paid subsequently,” it had
said.
The government has said that both the options
recommended by the 7th Central Pay Commission as regards pension
revision be accepted subject to feasibility of the implementation. A
Committee comprising Secretary (Pension) as Chairman and Member (Staff),
Railway Board, Member (Staff), Department of Posts, Additional
Secretary & Financial Adviser, Ministry of Home Affairs and
Controller General of Accounts as Members would take a call on this
recommendation.