THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government is withdrawing from providing pension and retirement benefits to university staff and teachers. The Finance Ministry has directed the setting up of a Pension fund and a Pension Fund Board in all universities.

25% of the salary of the employee should be transferred to the pension fund within the 10th of every month. Of this, ten per cent can be derived from a grant provided by the government as state share. The remaining 15 per cent is to be borne by the universities from their own funds.

The amount currently set aside by the University for pension purposes should be transferred to this fund. The amount obtained for pension management from the state and central governments and agencies should also be transferred to the fund. A treasury account should be opened for this. The amount in the pension fund can be deposited in high interest-bearing banks or financial institutions with the permission of the government. Its interest should be transferred to the fund. If a university does not have the money to pay the pension, it can borrow at low interest rates from banks or government financial institutions. This interest can be paid from the pension fund.

Although there is a provision in the Universities Act, no university has set up a pension fund. Notification should be issued by stating that the pension fund has been in existence since the year the University was formed. The Pension Fund Board is required to approve the figures every six months. The pension reform is to be implemented with retrospective effect from July 2019.

Money that can be paid from pension fund

• Pension of employees of the Statutory Pension Scheme, famine relief, famine relief arrears, DCRG, pension commutation, terminal surrender, family pension, pension reform arrears.
• Allocation to be paid by the University to the employees covered under the National Pension Scheme
• Retirement benefits provided by the government to the employees of the National Pension Scheme and relief assistance to the dependents of the employees.

Fees will have to be increased

• Various types of fees will have to be increased exponentially to increase domestic revenue.
• With the advent of new universities, domestic revenue declined.

Number of pensioners

• Kerala- 5000
• Agriculture- 3000
• Calicut-3000
• MG-1500