look news india
Much awaited for central employees and pensioners 8th Pay Commission These days it has reached its most important and final stage. More than half of the 18-month stipulated time period of this Commission constituted under the chairmanship of Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai has passed and the phase of its consultations and discussions is progressing rapidly. Meanwhile, the question is arising in the minds of old central pensioners and their families who have retired before January 1, 2026, whether they will get any relief from this commission or will face a shock. Pensioners’ organizations have increased pressure on the government by demanding clear amendments in the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Commission.
Pensioners organizations demand changes and clarity in ToR
Major pensioners organizations like Bharat Pensioners Samaj (BPS) and All India Defense Employees Federation (AIDEF) have strongly urged the Central Government to immediately make necessary amendments in the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 8th Pay Commission. These organizations argue that the current scope of work does not clearly include pension revision for existing pensioners and family pensioners, parity between old and new pensioners, and other retirement benefits. AIDEF has written to the Finance Ministry and the Cabinet Secretary demanding that the provision for revision of pension and pensionary benefits for all employees retiring before or after January 1, 2026 should be added.
Furthermore, AIDEF has also expressed strong objection to the terms ‘unfunded cost’ used in the scope of work. He clearly believes that the pension earned by employees during government service should not be seen merely as a financial burden or liability, but as a right for their lifetime of service.
BPS’s letter to the Prime Minister, many demands including restoration of old pension
Bharat Pensioners’ Society (BPS), in its letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon after the formation of the 8th Pay Commission, had also strongly demanded the inclusion of pension and family pension amendments in the scope of work. The main objective of BPS is to remove the term ‘unfunded cost’ from the ToR or make appropriate amendments in it. Along with this, BPS has sought to clarify that pensioners retiring before January 1, 2026, should not be excluded under any circumstances and their pension related recommendations should be applicable to serving employees only.
Apart from these major issues, BPS has also raised several other major demands, which include restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), improvement in comprehensive health insurance schemes, extending the benefits of the 8th Pay Commission to Autonomous & Statutory Bodies under the Central Government, and also extending benefits to Gram Dak Sevaks (GDS), considered the backbone of rural postal services.
The way forward and important upcoming meetings
The main concern behind all these demands of the pensioners’ organizations is that before the final report of the Commission is submitted to the Central Government, every kind of ambiguity should be removed by the Government and the Commission so that the interests of crores of elderly citizens are not harmed. In the coming months, important meetings of the Commission are going to be held in various parts of the country like Chennai, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Jaipur, on which the eyes of pensioners across the country are fixed.