Startled? Bitter but
true. It is a harsh reality that the Government has made a profitable business
out of the apparently innocuous ‘welfare measure’ called “Commutation of
Pension”. Calculations show that the Government recovers much more than the
amount it extends ostensibly as a welfare measure to the retiring personnel.
The main reason projected by the Government for excess recovery is the
‘mortality risk factor’ as the balance recovery is waived in case of death. The
hard fact remains that commuted pension is like any other advance/ loan on
which the Government charges interest (currently 8%) at market rate! The
Government keeps on chewing on the pension for 15 years though it recovers the
full amount with interest in 10 years and 10 months (in case of post-1.9.08
retirees). In the case of earlier retirees, it fully recovers in less than 13
years.
As per extant rules [Central
Civil Services (Commutation of Pension) Rules, 1981], commuted pension is
restored 15 years after the date of drawal of the commuted amount. This period
of 15 years is arbitrarily fixed, without any legal or mathematical basis. This
amounts to an unjust and immoral enrichment of the Government at the cost of
the pensioners/ senior citizens. This affects all the services, irrespective of
the rank/ level of the pensioner. What right/ justification has the Government
got to overcharge the pensioners and recover even a penny more than what it has
paid? The Government is behaving like a typical rural money lender and is
knowingly milking the pensioners.
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