The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday, January 10 announced the rollout of the newly announced assured pension scheme for government employees. Chief Minister MK Stalin had announced the new scheme on December 3 and had issued a formal order detailing its broad framework and scope.
The Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme (TNAPS) has elements taken from the old pension system as well as the controversial contributory model that is being replaced.
Under TNAPS, eligible employees will receive a guaranteed pension equal to 50% of their last drawn basic pay and dearness allowance (DA). The state has also confirmed that pensioners under the scheme will be entitled to DA revisions once every six months, on par with serving government employees.
The move comes against the backdrop of a long-standing demand raised by employee and teacher unions ever since the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) replaced the old pension scheme.
To fund the enhanced benefits, the state government had earlier announced that 10% of an employee’s salary would be deducted, a provision reiterated during discussions with unions.
According to the government order, the Assured Pension Scheme will be mandatory for all government employees and teachers who joined service from the first day of last month.
In addition, all employees who were covered under CPS and retired on or after that date will also be eligible for benefits under TNAPS.
A key feature of the new framework is the coverage provided to employees who joined service before the cut-off date. Such employees will be given the choice at the time of retirement to opt either for CPS or TNAPS.
The state government has clarified that those who switch from CPS to the TNAPS framework will be treated as eligible for minimum pension benefits.
The state government also clarified that a separate, comprehensive notification outlining eligibility norms, procedural guidelines, and implementation mechanisms would be issued soon.