The Maharashtra cabinet on Thursday cleared a proposal that offers state government employees who joined service after November 2005 the option of availing the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
The decision comes in the wake of government and semi-government employees, as well as officials, going on a strike to highlight their demand for restoring the OPS. “The cabinet's decision will benefit 26,000 state government employees who were selected before November 2005 but received joining letters later,” said Vishwas Katkar, general secretary of the Maharashtra State Employees Confederation.
There are as many as 9.5 lakh state employees who joined the service before November 2005. These people already enjoy the benefits of the OPS, under which a government employee gets a monthly pension equivalent to 50 per cent of his / her last drawn salary.
Under OPS, which was discontinued in the state in 2005, there is no need for contribution by employees.
Deadline Provided To Submit Relevant Documents
The state cabinet has asked the 26,000 employees who can benefit from the decision to opt between the OPS and New Pension Scheme within six months and submit documents to their departments in another two months. This is a one-time option for these employees, according to a statement by the CMO.
Under the New Pension Scheme, a state government employee contributes 10 per cent of his/her basic salary plus dearness allowance with the state making a matching contribution. The money is then invested in one of the several pension funds approved by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority and the returns are market-linked.
