Old Pension Scheme: Now the debate of old pension scheme vs new pension scheme has become an election issue. Governments of opposition parties are advocates of implementing the old pension scheme.
Old Pension Scheme: Pension scheme has become a big issue in the whole country. Amidst the ongoing debate on the pros and cons of the Old Pension Scheme and the New Pension Scheme, many states ruled by opposition parties have started implementing the change. In this connection, the Congress Government of Himachal Pradesh (Himachal Pradesh Govt) has reinstated the old pension scheme in the state. In this regard, the government issued an official notification on Monday late evening.
Pension of such employees will increase
It was told in the government notification that from April 1, 2023, the old pension scheme (OPS) has been restored in Himachal Pradesh. This will benefit 1.36 lakh employees of the state government and now they will not be a part of the National Pension Scheme. In this way, it has been ensured for the government employees of Himachal Pradesh to get the benefit of the old pension scheme from this month itself.
This change from this month
The notification to implement OPS was issued by the Chief Secretary of the State Government. It has been said in the notification that after the decision of the cabinet to implement the old pension scheme, the contribution of state government employees coming under NPS will be stopped from April 1, 2023. Let us tell you that under NPS, contribution is made by both the employer and the employee. In this case, the employer’s contribution is made by the state governments. After the change, the government of Himachal Pradesh will not give contribution to NPS for its employees.
Cabinet decision in January
Assembly elections were held in Himachal Pradesh last year i.e. in the year 2022. During the elections, the Congress had promised to restore the OPS. The restoration of the old pension scheme was one of the major promises of the Congress in the 2022 assembly elections. After the elections, the Congress government was formed in Himachal Pradesh under the leadership of Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and now the Congress government has fulfilled its election promise. The decision in this regard was taken in the first cabinet meeting on 13 January 2023. After that its notification has been issued on 17 April 2023.
Retired people also benefit
This decision of the state government will not only benefit the existing government employees of Himachal Pradesh, along with it many retired employees are also going to be benefited. Employees who have worked for 20 years or more will now get 50 percent of the basic salary and an amount equal to dearness allowance as pension. It is clear that the pension of the affected employees is going to increase.
Change happened 20 years ago
The old pension scheme was discontinued in the year 2004. After January 2004, it was discontinued and replaced by the National Pension Scheme, which is also known as the New Pension Scheme. Employees whose job has started after January 1, 2004 are covered under NPS.
