Twinkle Sharma 
The Finance Ministry has issued a very urgent directive. This says that all central government employees will have to opt for a pension scheme by 30th September, 2025. By using the scheme, pension will be guaranteed as per UPS, the newly rolled-out scheme. Any employee failing to make a choice on or before this deadline … Read more
Government employees and pensioners could be gifted good news just before Diwali! The central government might be announcing a 3% hike in DA. On approval, the DA would move from its present 55% of basic salary/pension to 58%. Nearly 1 crore central employees and pensioners stand to benefit from this DA hike, providing some financial … Read more
The 8th Pay Commission has been accepted by the government and shall come into firm effect from January 1, 2026. It is slated to amend pay, pension, and allowances of more than 50 lakh Central Government employees and about 65 lakh pensioners. As per keeping fitment, very much of the increase in salary is due … Read more
The minimum pension being paid to eligible pensioners is ₹1,000 under the EPS-95 administered by the EPFO. It has remained low for several years, on account of inflation and a rise in the cost of living. The pensioners, unions, and even some advocacy groups have pressed for a considerable increase in this floor. What Is … Read more
Sometimes gratuity is paid as a lump sum by way of compensation for long service and as a retirement benefit. Most often, the payment is made when the employee is going on retirement, resigning after completing prescribed minimum years of service, or some other cases like death or disablement. The gratuity amount depends on salary … Read more
Before the 2004 reforms in India, the government employees traditionally worked under the old pension scheme. Rabbits received a fixed pension calculated according to their last salary and no contribution was made by the retiring employee. Pension payment was the sole responsibility of the employer (government). Other than this, cost-of-living considerations (like growth of pension … Read more
Under UPS, eligible employees would be entitled to a pension that would give them more predictability than the usual NPS, which depends on investment returns and accumulation of corpus. It is thus designed to provide long-term financial security, linking benefits to basic salary and dearness relief, rather than being totally market-linked. Eligibility, Latest Extension Employees … Read more
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization is about to introduce a major upgrade known as version EPFO 3.0, intended to revamp the system for withdrawals from provident funds. Before Diwali 2025, the upgrade will be in place, allowing millions of PF subscribers to pluck their moolah out of bureaucratic maze. What Changes Are Proposed In EPFO … Read more
The 8th Pay Commission is an upcoming periodic pay revision for central government employees and pensioners in India. Approved earlier in 2025, it was meant for making adjustments and increases to salaries, pensions, and allowances considering inflation, price rise, and change in economic conditions. The last such pay adjustment of a major kind was the … Read more
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of India froze three installments of the Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) payable to central government employees and pensioners. These instalments of DA/DR would have been payable on January 1, 2020, July 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021, covering in total a period of 18 months. The … Read more