Pensioners Get BIG Relief on 8th Pay Commission; DA Merger Ruled Out for Now
The Union government has provided a crucial clarity regarding the 8th Central Pay Commission (8th CPC) that offers a significant relief to the nation’s 69 lakh pensioners while simultaneously disappointing nearly 1.2 crore central government employees and retirees on another front.
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Pension Revision Confirmed (The Relief)
Addressing the confusion that arose from the lack of explicit mention of ‘pension revision’ in the 8th CPC’s Terms of Reference (ToR), Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary confirmed in the Rajya Sabha that pension benefits will be part of the recommendations.
The Minister’s statement directly ends the ambiguity:
“The 8th CPC will make its recommendations on the various issues viz. Pay, Allowances, Pension, etc. of the central government employees.”
The fears among pensioners stemmed from the inclusion of the term “unfunded cost of non-contributory pension schemes” in the ToR, which led to speculation that a historic departure from revising pensions was planned. This official reply assuages those fears.
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DA/DR Merger Ruled Out (The Setback)
However, in a major setback for employees and existing pensioners, the government clarified that there is currently no proposal under consideration to merge the Dearness Allowance (DA) or Dearness Relief (DR) with the basic pay, a long-standing demand of workers’ bodies.
The Minister stated that the current process of revising DA/DR every six months based on the All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (AICPI-IW) remains the only mechanism to adjust for the cost of living and inflation erosion.
Implementation Timeline
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ToR Approval: The Union Cabinet approved the ToR for the 8th Pay Commission last month, benefiting 50 lakh employees and 69 lakh pensioners.
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Likely Implementation: Going by the history of previous pay commissions (which take 18 to 24 months to implement), reports suggest the 8th CPC recommendations are unlikely to be implemented before mid-2027, potentially being pushed to early 2028.
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Disclaimer: This information is based on official statements made by the Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha during the winter session of Parliament regarding the 8th Central Pay Commission.
