Himachal: Retired employees demanded pension for short service

Nurpur: Himachal Pradesh New Pension Scheme (NPS) Retired Employees Association has urged Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu to grant respectable monthly pension to employees who have served less than 10 years in various government departments of the state before retirement. In a statement issued here today, association president Sanjeev Guleria said the state government has fulfilled the election guarantee of giving Old Pension Scheme (OPS) benefits to government employees who have served more than 10 years in government service before retirement. “But employees who have served less than 10 years in government departments before retirement are upset as they are deprived of any service pension benefits. The government should grant pension to these employees as per their official designation,” he said. He said OPS was abolished by the then Central government on January 1, 2004, creating a sense of insecurity among government employees, but the Sukhu-led government has taken a historic decision by restoring OPS in the state.