8th Pay Commission latest: Central employees are eagerly waiting for the recommendations of the Eighth Pay Commission. If everything goes well, then the Pay Commission can submit its recommendations to the government by the first half of the year 2027.
Before this, there is a possibility of a major change regarding the pension of central employees.
What could be the change?
An India Today report quoted employee organizations and union representatives as saying that such a system is under consideration at the government level in which employees can get more freedom to choose their pension structure. However, no official announcement has been made in this regard yet, but employee organizations claim that progress can be made in this direction in the next two to four months.
What is the system now?
At present most of the central employees recruited after January 1, 2004 are covered under the National Pension System (NPS). Under this scheme, both the government and the employees deposit equal shares. The pension received after retirement depends on the market performance and returns on investment.
Before this there was Old Pension Scheme (OPS). In this scheme, the central employee was guaranteed fixed pension on the basis of last salary and dearness allowance. Recently the government has also launched the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). An attempt was made to combine some features of both NPS and OPS in this scheme.
What is the demand?
Now employee organizations want that employees should be given the facility to choose between different pension options so that they can get more security and clarity after retirement. All India NPS Employees Federation (AINPSEF) has also raised this issue with the Eighth Pay Commission.
According to employee unions, since pension under NPS is completely dependent on the market, employees remain worried about the future. In such a situation, guarantees like assured pension and OPS are being demanded. At the same time, there is also a demand for changes in the rules related to Voluntary Retirement (VRS).
When will the recommendations of the Eighth Pay Commission come?
The recommendations of the Eighth Pay Commission may come by the first half of next year. Let us tell you that the government had constituted the Pay Commission last year. After this, in the month of February this year, the Pay Commission launched a website. Through the website, the Pay Commission had sought suggestions from central employees and organizations associated with them. Pay Commission meetings are also going on with different employee organizations. After these meetings the Pay Commission will submit its recommendations to the government.