7th CPC Pension Calculation : Fixation for Pre-2016 Pensioners

The 7th Pay Commission has recommended the fixation of pension for civil employees including CAPF personnel, who have retired before 01.01.2016, given two formulations with illustrations for fixing of pension. One for the pensioners retired before 2016 and another one is for the pensioners retired before 2006.

And also recommended, the first formulation of fixing the pension may take a little time since the records of each pensioner will have to be checked to ascertain the number of increments earned in the retiring level. The first instance the revised pension may be calculated as in the second formulation and the same may be paid as an interim measure. In the event calculation as per the formulation of fixing the pension yields a higher amount the difference may be paid subsequently.

And one more important recommendation of option given to the pensioners for choosing whichever is beneficial to them.

Recommendations on fixing of Pension by 7th CPC : All the civilian personnel including CAPF who retired prior to 01.01.2016 (expected date of implementation of the Seventh CPC recommendations) shall first be fixed in the Pay Matrix being recommended by this Commission, on the basis of the Pay Band and Grade Pay at which they retired, at the minimum of the corresponding level in the matrix.

1.This amount shall be raised, to arrive at the notional pay of the retiree, by adding the number of increments he/she had earned in that level while in service, at the rate of three percent. Fifty percent of the total amount so arrived at shall be the revised pension.

2. The second calculation to be carried out is as follows. The pension, as had been fixed at the time of implementation of the VI CPC recommendations, shall be multiplied by 2.57 to arrive at an alternate value for the revised pension.

Illustration on fixation of pension :

Case I : Pensioner ‘A’ retired at last pay drawn of Rs.79,000 on 30 May, 2015 under the VI CPC regime, having drawn three increments in the scale Rs.67,000 to 79,000:

Case II : Pensioner ‘B’ retired at last pay drawn of Rs.4,000 on 31 January, 1989 under the IV CPC regime, having drawn 9 increments in the pay scale of Rs.3000-100-3500-125-4500:

One of the biggest and familiar federation which is established in 1955, Bharat Pensiners Samaj (BPS) submitted a memorandum to 7th Pay Commission related to pensioners issue.

Pension Entitlement – Emoluments for Pension:

3.1 The entire income in form of basic pay, special pay or personal pay if any, deputation duty allowance etc are the elements of pay proper and therefore confining the emoluments to the basic pay as recommended by the IV and V CPCs is arbitrary an dtherofre should be undone. The Dearness Allowance is meant to restore the purchasing power of pay and therefore is only an addition to pay. In many countries there is no system of DA. Periodically the Pay is revised / indexed taking into account the rise in cost of living. Here also there is a system of merging the DA as DP for purposes of pensionery benefits. In respect of gratuity already the DA is being included with Pay and therefore there is no reason for excluding the DA from the emoluments. We therefore suggest that the emoluments for the calculation of pension should include:

(a) Basic Pay
(b) Any Special pay or personal pay, or deputation duty allowance.
(c) Dearness Allowance
(d) Non-practising allowance in respect of Doctors
(e) 75% of the running allowance in respect of Railway Running Staff retired after 4.12.1988.

3.2 There are persons who retire after having served for full year since their last increment. The next increment which has already accured to them is however not added to their amoluments for purposes of computing pension and other pensionery benefits. It is therefore submitted that the Commission may kindly consider and recommend that if a person retire on the day he has completed 12 months of service since his last increment, the increment accrued to him may be added notionally to his basic pay and then the pension computed.

3.3 The VI CPC has already recommended that the ten monthly average emoluments or the last pay drawn, whichever is more beneficial, should be the basis of computation of pension. We have therefore no further suggestion to place before the Commission on this issue.

Minimum Pension

The concept of minimum pension and the method of computing it have not been explained by any of the pay commissions or the Government, it is clear that the Minimum Pension is 50% of the Minimum Wage. The rationale behind the percentage has nowhere been explained. We however think that in order to ensure that it is adequate, 100% of the minimum wage should be the Minimum Pension. The very concept of Need Based Minimum Wage is that this is a level of wage below which a worker’s family cannot subsist / survive and remain capable to perform. That being the concept of minimum wage, it should also apply in the case of Minimum Pension on the premise that any pension lower than the Minimum pay is insufficient to enable a pensioner / family pensioner to live or survive.