Jaipur: The state’s finance department’s decision to ask employees, who have retired before April 1, 2022 and are willing to opt for the old pension scheme (OPS), to deposit both the total money withdrawn from Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) under the new pension scheme (NPS) after retirement (60% of the total corpus, which is government and employees’ contributions) and the annuity amount (40% of the total corpus) has put a financial burden on them.
The State Insurance Provident Fund (SIPF)’s internal communication stated that employees who retired before April 1, 2022, willing to opt for old pension scheme (OPS), and have already withdrawn pension under NPS, are required to deposit the amount in the state fund. It also stated that employees, who have not withdrawn money under NPS, are required to withdraw money from the NPS fund and deposit it again in the state fund.
The government has asked these employees to deposit the annuity amount (40% of the total corpus which is deposited in a private insurance company by NSDL/PFRDA, also called the private pension) by arranging the money on their own.
The old pension scheme was restored in the state from April 1.
S S Agarwal, who was an associate professor and is retired now, has a total corpus amount of Rs 61.05 lakh. According to Agarwal, he will have to deposit the entire amount to get benefits of OPS and receive a monthly pension of Rs 50,364.
“Of Rs 61.05 lakh, I will get around Rs 36 lakh (60%) from PFRDA, and the rest, around Rs 25 lakh, I will have to arrange on my own. Where will I get so much money immediately? This is not a good decision for the employees,” said Agarwal. “Out of 3,500 such employees (who retired before April 1, 2022), not even 200 will be able to deposit this money,” he said.
New Pension Scheme Employees’ Federation of Rajasthan (NPSEFR) state general secretary Rakesh Kumar, said, “Our demand is that the government should either bear the financial burden of employees from January 1, 2004, or should not ask the employees to deposit their share of the contribution, which is approximately 50% of the total corpus.”
The State Insurance Provident Fund (SIPF)’s internal communication stated that employees who retired before April 1, 2022, willing to opt for old pension scheme (OPS), and have already withdrawn pension under NPS, are required to deposit the amount in the state fund. It also stated that employees, who have not withdrawn money under NPS, are required to withdraw money from the NPS fund and deposit it again in the state fund.
The government has asked these employees to deposit the annuity amount (40% of the total corpus which is deposited in a private insurance company by NSDL/PFRDA, also called the private pension) by arranging the money on their own.
The old pension scheme was restored in the state from April 1.
S S Agarwal, who was an associate professor and is retired now, has a total corpus amount of Rs 61.05 lakh. According to Agarwal, he will have to deposit the entire amount to get benefits of OPS and receive a monthly pension of Rs 50,364.
“Of Rs 61.05 lakh, I will get around Rs 36 lakh (60%) from PFRDA, and the rest, around Rs 25 lakh, I will have to arrange on my own. Where will I get so much money immediately? This is not a good decision for the employees,” said Agarwal. “Out of 3,500 such employees (who retired before April 1, 2022), not even 200 will be able to deposit this money,” he said.
New Pension Scheme Employees’ Federation of Rajasthan (NPSEFR) state general secretary Rakesh Kumar, said, “Our demand is that the government should either bear the financial burden of employees from January 1, 2004, or should not ask the employees to deposit their share of the contribution, which is approximately 50% of the total corpus.”
