Over 13k employees to be brought under old pension scheme

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday declared that more than 13,000 State government employees who had been recruited before April 2006 would now be covered under the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).

It had been a long-standing demand of protesting employees that they be covered under the OPS since they weren’t happy with the New Pension Scheme (NPS) under which they had fallen.

The Congress had made reverting back to the OPS one of the promises it made under its manifesto.

“I hope this decision will bring solace to the families of all 13,000 NPS employees,” Siddaramaiah said.

Under the OPS, retired employees get half their salary monthly and dearness allowance twice a year and no deductions are made in their salary while they work.

Under the NPS, 10 per cent of the salary is deducted and the amount invested in funds and employees get the return on their investments after retirement.

The Congress has done away with NPS and restored OPS in the other states where it rules (Himachal Pradesh) or ruled in the past, namely Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.