Relief for govt employees; new scheme to replace contributory pension, scheme of other states to be examined

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: This year's state budget brings relief to the government employees in Kerala. Finance Minister K N Balagopal announced in his budget speech that a new pension scheme will be launched for government employees. He announced that contributory pension will be replaced with a new scheme. For this, the finance minister said the schemes of other states will also be examined.

Contributory pension is the biggest discussion among the state government employees. The review committee's report came last November stating that there is no major benefit for the government employees in Kerala through contributory pension. Majority of government employees in the state don’t want to continue with the scheme. In this situation, it is believed that the government employees will welcome the new pension scheme.

The committee submitted a 116-page report in 2021, without giving a definite answer to the question of whether to continue or withdraw the participation pension scheme, pointing out its pros and cons, enumerating the things that can be done and codifying the opinions of the employees. Although eight references were given to the committee, it is clear that the committee sought answers to two concerns of the government.