Chandigarh: Punjab govt has issued an order clarifying that its pension scheme will remain a ‘Defined Contributory Pension Scheme’ despite aiming to deliver guaranteed benefits based on Old Pension Scheme (OPS) principles, while simultaneously approving a four-month extension to evaluate alternative pension models.In an order issued on Sept 13, additional chief secretary (finance) Alok Shekhar outlined the official position, stating: “In continuation of notification dated Nov 18, 2022, the Governor of Punjab is pleased to clarify that the intent of the above said notification is to give guaranteed pension on the principles of Old Pension Scheme, however the nature of the scheme shall continue to be ‘Defined Contributory Pension Scheme’.“The order details the mandate for the extended evaluation period, noting that “an extension of four months is granted to comprehensively examine the administrative feasibility, financial implications, and operational modalities for the implementation of the proposed modified pension scheme after thorough examination of recent developments including UPS, best practices being followed in other States, and recommend any other alternative pension model for the State”.The directive has been circulated to the principal secretary to the CM, members of the cabinet sub-Committee, including Harpal Singh Cheema, Aman Arora and Harjot Singh Bains, and the officers’ sub-committee headed by the chief secretary to oversee the next steps of the evaluation process.Reacting to the decision, Amandeep Singh, cashier of the Punjab Govt Employees’ Union, said the state govt had been sitting on the OPS issue since 2022. “In four months, the election code of conduct will be imposed,” he said.In 2022, the Punjab cabinet had approved a notification to restore the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for over 1.7 lakh state govt employees covered under the Defined Contributory Pension Scheme (National Pension System). It was followed by the central govt’s refusal to refund the accumulated Rs 16,746 crore corpus under the NPS to state exchequers and the Centre’s introduction of the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) and alternative frameworks adopted by other states.
