Pay Commission Award: Pre-2016 retirees to get revised pension, arrears by month-end

Central government pensioners who have retired prior to 2016 will get enhanced pension and arrears as per 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations by this month-end, the government has said.

For existing pensioners, who have retired before 31 December 2015, the revised pension or family pension payable from January this year will be 2.57 times the pension or family pension fixed at the time of implementation of Sixth CPC recommendations, the government said, adding that the amount of revised pension so arrived at shall be rounded off to next higher rupee.

The ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions has issued an order regarding increase in pension and grant of arrears to pre-2006 retirees.

The Seventh CPC's recommendations are effective from 1 January 2016.

"It is considered desirable that the benefit of these orders should reach the pensioners as expeditiously as possible," the ministry said.

The ministry has directed all pension disbursing authorities to ensure that the revised pension and the arrears due to the pensioners are paid or credited to the beneficiary accounts by 31 August 2016 or before.

There are about 58 lakh central government pensioners.

The ministry has also authorised public sector banks handling disbursement of pension to the central government pensioners to pay pension or family pension to existing pensioners at the revised rates "without any further authorisation from the concerned Accounts Officers or Head of Office etc".