As discussions around the 8th Pay Commission gather pace and expectations of a salary and pension revision grow among central government employees, a related question is being raised by another large group — retired employees of public sector banks.
Pension revision for retirees: Govt response comes amid rising 8th Pay Commission expectations – Money News | The Financial Express
Many bank retirees argue that while government employees see periodic pay commission revisions, their basic pension has not been updated for decades.
The issue was recently raised in Parliament, where the government clarified its position on whether there are plans to revise the basic pension of public sector bank (PSB) retirees.
Why did the issue come up in Parliament?
The matter was recently raised in the Lok Sabha by MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy. The question pointed out that some financial institutions have approved pension increases and asked whether similar revision could be considered for retirees of public sector banks.
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The government’s response was provided by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary.
Have pensions been increased for RBI and NABARD retirees?
Yes. The government confirmed that pension revisions have been approved in some financial institutions.
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According to the Finance Ministry:
The government has approved a 10% increase in basic pension plus dearness relief for retirees of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
This increase applies to all pensioners who retired before November 1, 2022.
The revision is effective from November 1, 2022.
For NABARD retirees, pension revisions were carried out earlier in phases.
Pension for retirees before November 1, 2012 was revised with effect from March 1, 2019.
Pension for retirees before November 1, 2017 was revised with effect from June 12, 2023.
However, the government said that no proposal has been received for revising the pension of NABARD retirees who retired before November 1, 2022.
Why are public sector bank retirees demanding pension revision?
Retired employees of public sector banks have been demanding revision or updation of their basic pension for many years.
Their argument is that:
The basic pension structure has not been revised for nearly three decades.
Pension does not reflect subsequent wage revisions granted to bank employees.
Several other sectors periodically revise pensions.
Because of this, bank retirees have repeatedly asked for pension revision similar to pay revisions in government service.
How is pension currently governed in public sector banks?
The government clarified that pension in public sector banks is governed by specific regulations.
Public sector banks include:
State Bank of India (SBI)
11 nationalised banks
For SBI employees, pension is governed by the State Bank of India Employees’ Pension Fund Regulations, 2014.
For employees of nationalised banks, pension is governed by the Bank (Employees’) Pension Regulations, 1995, which were approved by the respective bank boards.
According to the government, these regulations do not include any provision for revision of basic pension.
Do PSB pensioners receive any increase in pension?
While basic pension is not revised, pensioners do receive Dearness Relief (DR).
The government said:
Dearness Relief on pension is revised every six months.
This adjustment helps offset the impact of inflation.
In addition, under the 12th Bipartite Settlement and 9th Joint Note, banks are also paying a monthly ex-gratia amount.
This payment is available to pensioners and family pensioners who became eligible to draw pension on or before October 31, 2022.
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Is the government considering pension revision for bank retirees?
According to the Finance Ministry’s response in Parliament, no proposal is currently under consideration to revise the basic pension of public sector bank retirees.
The government said pension will continue to be governed by the existing pension regulations, which do not allow for such revision.
What does this mean for bank pensioners?
For now, the government’s clarification indicates that:
Basic pension revision for PSB retirees is not being considered at present.
Pensioners will continue to receive Dearness Relief revisions and ex-gratia payments under existing arrangements.
However, with the broader conversation around the 8th Pay Commission and pension revision gaining momentum, the demand for pension updation by bank retirees is likely to remain a continuing policy debate.
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