Shri.R.B.Kishore,VP,AIRIEF wrote in LICPC on 27-08-2014 under the caption, ' Some more light on pre 1986 pensioners'.
Shri Kishoreji said " How frequently RBI has done the revision speaks high of RBIs concern for all types of pensioners & exgratia retirees."The pre 1986 retirees of RBI and banks get the same amount of ex gratia and the same percentage of DR on basic.The pre 1986 LIC retirees too get the same amount of ex gratia and the percentage of DR on basic like banks but at times after a few months delay. The RBI Governors have been empathetic to the health and age related problems of the pre 1986 ex gratia recipients and have sanctioned medical allowance. The medical allowance which was Rs.300/- few years ago has been revised upward periodically and at present ranges between Rs.3400/- and Rs.5600/- p.m. to different staff and officers. It is Rs. 1000/- pm to pre 1986 retirees of LIC. (R.K.B.)Shri Kishorji had added in his write up that AIRIEF has in its Charter of Demands requested the LIC Management to increase the medical allowance to different categories of staff and officers on the lines of RBI, may it be a bit less. The matter must be pursued vigorously.
Shri C.H.Mahadevan in his recent letter addressed to the Chairman (posted in PC on 22-09-2014) had mentioned about the anomaly in family pension at the minimum and maximum ( Rs.1250/- and Rs.2400/- ) of the pensioners retired in August 1987 and 1992 pay scales. The inadequate pension that the family pensioners of our late colleagues are getting is very much glaring. With the cost of living going up every month, the family pensioners of a junior cadre Assistant to Senior most Executive Director getting five to ten thousand rupees a month, definitely might not be able to maintain the kind of standard of living they lived for years. It is pity that the authorities that matter in GOI and /or in LIC are reluctant to play their role effectively to address to the unresolved issues of updating of pension,100 % DR, family pension at 30 % of the last pay drawn, improvement in the amount of ex gratia to and medical allowance to pre 1986 retirees.
The ceiling ( maximum ) on Family Pension Basic at Rs.1250/-( later revised to Rs.2400/- ) was as 4 th CPC. THE 5 Th CPC RECOMMENDED REMOVAL OF THE CEILING OF Rs.1250/- ON FAMILY PENSION WHICH, THE COMMISSION OBSERVED, OPERATES HARSHLY AGAINST THE FAMILIES OF EMPLOYEES. THE COMMISSION ALSO RECOMMENDED REMOVAL OF VARYING RATES ( 30, 20, 15 PERCENT ) OF FAMILY PENSION FOR DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEES. IT RECOMMENDED A UNIFORM 30 % OF PAY FOR ALL CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEES. GOI family pensioners have been getting 30 % of pay since 01-01-1996. The family pensioners also like pensioners get ' updation of pension' on ' certain norms ' once in ten years along with revision of scales of working employees. The family pensioners also get additional 20 %, 30 %, 40%, 50 % and 100 % pension when they turn 80,85, 90, 95 and 100 years old. The minimum family pension in GOI is Rs. 3500/- and the maximum Rs.27000/- (the Cabinet Secretary ). The latest DR is 107 % for the period 01-07-2014 to 01-12-2014.
RBI family pensioners were also getting very meagre pension like banks and LIC. Their leaders prevailed upon the management and MOF, GOI. The GOI as usual after long persuasion, consented for Family Pension at 30 % of the ' last pay drawn' to all from 12-01-2013, from the date of GOI gazette notification. With a view of doing away with multiple DR rates, RBI consolidated the basic pay eligible for pension at CPI 2836 merger - effected from 01-11-2007 revision of pay scales in banks and RBI. The pay revisions of 1987, 1992, 1997 and 2002 were at merger point of 600, 1148, 1684 and 2288.The RBI adopted a simple formula for consolidation to arrive at the new basic pay. An example of consolidation of pay of an employee retired in 1987 pay scale : 1200 (basic pay) x 2836 / 600 =5672 is the revised consolidated pay and 30 % of the consolidated / revised pay of an employee is the basic family pension. The minimum and maximum family pension in RBI from January 2013 is Rs.3500/- and Rs.24495/-. They get DR at uniform rate( as revised from time to time on half yearly basis ) irrespective of date of retirement / death of employee, as payable to post 01-11-2007 retirees whose pay scales are based on CPI 2836. The latest DR for the period 01-08-2014 to 31-01-2015 is 102.45 % of the basic family pension. Majority of the family pensioners are reportedly getting since January 2013 double or more than double the pension they did draw when there was ' ceiling' etc. The minimum and maximum family pension including DR for the month of August 2014 is Rs.7086/- and Rs.49591/- respectively.The last revision of pay scales in LIC was from 01-08-2007 with merger point of 2944.The pay revisions of 1987, 1992, 1997, and 2002 were at merger point of 600, 1148, 1740 and 2328 respectively. There is an urgent need to revise the Family Pension. Our family pensioners, like family pensioners in GOI /RBI should get 30 % of the eligible basic pay for pension with the minimum of Rs.3500/-. Shri GNSji in one of his writings in LICPC some months back had said,
" We are at it " The matter may be pursued at the highest level with all the seriousness that it
deserves by all leaders including Shri GNS ji.
SN ( a 1992 pensioner )