Ops

No proposal under consideration for restoration of Old Pension Scheme: FM Sitharaman 

In a reply in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said that the government had moved away from OPS due to its unsustainable fiscal liability on the government exchequer.

Unified Pension Scheme not a rollback of NPS, asserts Sitharaman

"We have not gone back to OPS. A U-turn is when we go back to the old position. Keeping the logical framework intact, we are giving them options."

Which states bear the highest burden of pension?

In the case of Bihar, pensions accounted for 58 percent of the state's own tax revenue in FY24, while 53.8 percent of Assam's earnings went towards annuity payments.

11% return on the pension corpus would mean no additional burden for the government

If returns are below 11.5 percent, burden may increase on the government

Central government pension spending to rise by double digits in FY26

The government’s pension bill, excluding railways and defence, is expected to be Rs 79,241 crore in the current fiscal

Guaranteed pension model will hurt states more than the Centre

A larger proportion of their revenue goes into servicing pensions

In pre-Budget meet with FM, trade unions suggest income tax relief, restoration of OPS

Trade Union Co-ordination Centre (TUCC), one of the 12 Central Trade Union Organisation recognised by Ministry of Labour & Employment suggested imposing an additional 2-percent-tax on the super-rich to guarantee social security benefits for all workers.

NPS vs OPS: Will Budget 2024 settle the debate in an election year?

Pension sector players expect the Finance Secretary-headed committee tasked with looking into government employees’ concerns about NPS to submit its report around budget time, which could pave the way for a final resolution of the thorny issue.

States' annual guarantees could be capped to ensure lower fiscal stress

The working group's recommendations come amid a debate on states' the financial situation, with the decision of some governments to revert to the Old Pension Scheme being seen as a big step back in improving their finances

Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu spend most on subsidies, plus other key stats from RBI’s state finances report

While there is no estimate – or even definition – of freebies, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar spend the most on subsidies as a percentage of their State Domestic Product. Meanwhile, Delhi is ahead on spending on public health and education.

Pension Scheme Dilemma: OPS is fiscally unstable while NPS needs more strengthening

The primary task is to take the four states – Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Himachal – which implemented OPS between 2022 and 2023, back to NPS. This is easier said than done

Congress’s loss in 3 states confirms Old Pension Scheme was never a vote catcher

The Congress party lost in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, states where it had rolled out or promised a return to the Old Pension Scheme. However, it clinched victory in Telangana without the OPS guarantee.

RBI Bulletin: Shift to OPS by states would be ‘fiscally unsustainable’, big step back

According to an analysis by economists from the Reserve Bank of India, the fiscal burden on states from reverting to the Old Pension Scheme will be around four-and-a-half-times that of the National Pension System

Railways must not allow demand for the old pension scheme to gather steam

The risk of not countering the growing chorus for the OPS is huge. For 2022-23, the Railways pension fund bill was Rs 60,000 crore