Friday, 7 August 2015

Ex-LIC employee fights for enhanced pension

Source:archive.indianexpress.com

Ex-LIC employee fights for enhanced pension




At the ripe age of 74, this former zonal deputy manager of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is a harassed man. For the past 12 years, he has been struggling to get his pension amount enhanced, but to no avail. This, despite the Central government having revised pension scale twice in this period. But the monthly pension he receives remains what it was according to the Fourth Pay Commission.
M L Gandhi, a Panchkula resident, retired from LIC in February 1994. The pension scheme started by the LIC then was in accordance with the Fourth Central Pay Commission.
"The Central government revised the pay and pension of its employees on the recommendation of fifth and sixth pay commissions in 1996 and in 2006. Despite this, no increase in pension was made for LIC employees who retired before 1997. This is a violation of our constitutional rights," says Gandhi.
Blame it on the toothless approach of the LIC in urging the finance ministry to give the go-ahead for raising the pension amount of the retirees or the inconsistency on part of the finance ministry in dealing with the matter, hundreds of retirees of LIC across the country are waiting endlessly for their pensions to be enhanced as per the revised provisions.
"After filing various RTI applications and making several rounds of offices, it was brought to my knowledge that the LIC reminded the Finance Ministry to approve the new recommendations, but the ministry is sitting over the matter since December 2001," he says.
With the matter pending, Gandhi, like others in the line, is losing out an amount ranging between Rs 4,000 and 8,000 per month.
Officials in LIC express helplessness over the issue.
"We are a public sector undertaking, so a government nod is necessary before we make any hike in pensions. We have already recommended to the finance ministry and the matter is pending before them. The ministry wants the hike to be linked to the banking sector, thus it is taking time," said Raghu Pal Singh, senior division manager, LIC, Chandigarh .
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Source: Internet

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