Revenue dip may nudge govt to enhance retirement age

Revenue dip may nudge govt to enhance retirement age

Move Likely To Save State Up To ₹4,000 Cr

Roushan.Ali@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:07.06.2020

With revenues plunging due to the economic slowdown and subsequently the lockdown due to coronavirus, the government’s decision to raise retirement age from 58 to 60 is now looking more likely. The move is estimated to save the government as much as ₹4,000 crore per annum.

Should the move materialise, the government will not have to pay gratuity, leave encashment, commutation and other retirement benefits in lump-sum thus resulting in huge savings. The finance department is currently working out the details and will send a report to chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao who will then take a decision.

Many had been expecting most retirements to take place in the months of February and March instead of June.“This is because the dates of birth of most employees fall in June, July or August. About 35 years to 40 years ago, when parents used to admit their children in schools in villages, they used to give the date of birth as June school admission month because they did not have birth certificates. This is also one of the reasons for June topping the list for number of retirements,” said an official.

Telangana Non-Gazetted Officers’ Association president K Ravinder Reddy told TOI that it was high time for the chief minister to implement his promise of enhancing retirement age. “As it is, the government is not giving revised pay scales (PRC) which is due from July 2018. We were expecting at least over 60% if not PRC but economic slowdown and the lockdown has impacted the state and central revenues,” Reddy said.

Meanwhile, the executive committee meeting of government employees’ JAC on Saturday unanimously resolved to demand the government that it should pay full salary for June. Ravinder Reddy said the government incurs at least ₹50 lakh per employee on an average towards lump-sum retirement benefit. “Already, over 11,000 employees have retired since TRS came to power for second term and missed out on retirement age enhancement,” he said.

Elsewhere, unemployed youth JAC leader Koturi Manavtha Roy demanded the government first fill up the one lakh government job vacancies.