8th Pay Commission: Increased tension of 69 lakh pensioners; REWA wrote a letter to PM Modi, raised demand to add pension amendment in ToR

The round of meetings of the 8th Central Pay Commission constituted for central employees and pensioners has intensified in the states. But meanwhile, about 69 lakh pensioners and family pensioners of the country are surrounded by great confusion and worry. The main bone of contention is the language of the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 8th Pay Commission.

Retired Employees Welfare Association (REWA), the leading organization of retired employees, has written a formal letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that the Commission’s scope of work (ToR) be changed immediately. The association argues that the current draft only mentions serving employees, whereas the situation regarding pension and family pension amendment of lakhs of former employees who have retired before January 1, 2026, has been left completely unclear.

In the demand letter sent by REWA General Secretary Sadhu Singh to the Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Department of Personnel and Pensions (DoP&PW), a direct objection has been lodged to a specific provision of the notification:

• Language of point 2(e): Clause 2(e) of the ToR of the 8th Pay Commission states that the Commission shall Will review the death-cum-retirement gratuity (DCRG), NPS, Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) and pension structures outside NPS..

• Names of former employees missing: REWA says that the word ’employees’ has been used in this entire provision, but there is no clear mention of those pensioners and family pensioners who are Retired before 1 January 2026 Have been done.

• Fear of being out of scope: Due to this terminology, there is a fear among 69 lakh elderly pensioners that the benefits of the 8th Pay Commission recommendations and pension revision may not be limited to the current employees only.

To strengthen its argument, the association has presented a comparative analysis of the official terms of reference of the last three pay commissions:

• 7th Pay Commission (7th CPC): It was clearly written in the ToR of the Seventh Pay Commission that the Commission, along with salaries and allowances, also decides on retirement benefits and ‘Revision of Pre-Retirement Pension’ Will also examine and give recommendations.

• 5th and 6th Pay Commission: As per the rules and regulations of these two pay commissions, ‘Pensioners’ and ‘Family Pensioners’ The words were clearly included.

• The question of pensioners organizations is that when there has been a clear mention of old pensioners in every Pay Commission for the last 30 years, then why was this omission or change made in the ToR of the 8th Pay Commission?

This demand is not limited to REWA only, but many other big employee and pensioner organizations of the country have also raised this issue with the Finance Ministry.

• All India Defense Employees Federation (AIDEF)Postal Pensioners’ Association and Railway Mail Service (RMS) unions have also demanded immediate amendment to the ToR.

• The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has also sent a letter to the Department of Expenditure and referred to considering the representation of these unions.

• Officials of the National Council (JCM) have assured pensioners that discussions are going on with the Commission on pension revision, but pensioner organizations want ‘written legal clarity’ in the gazette notification rather than any ‘verbal assurance’.

In view of the mental anxiety and confusion of lakhs of elderly pensioners, the organization has appealed to the Central Government for immediate intervention and has put forward a two-point demand:

1. Formal Amendment: By officially amending the ToR of the 8th Pay Commission, this clear sentence should be added that –“The 8th Pay Commission will also recommend revision of pension/family pension of all pensioners and family pensioners who retired before January 1, 2026.”

2. Interim clarification to be issued: Until a formal notification is issued, the Finance Ministry or the Central Government should immediately issue an official press release or clarification to put an end to the rumors spreading on social media and the concerns of pensioners.