THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: According to the Satish Chandrababu Commission report, which has studied the matter, even though there is no recommendation to withdraw the contributory pension scheme, there is no legal obstacle for the government to withdraw from the scheme. According to the agreement signed between the National Pension Trust and the Government of Kerala, the Government has no liability whatsoever if it withdraws from the scheme.

It was an election promise of the Left Front in 2016 that the contributory pension scheme implemented by the UDF government in 2013 would be reviewed. Despite the LDF coming to power, no action was taken for four and a half years. A report was prepared by appointing a government committee in 2021 before the assembly elections. However, the report was not released even after two years of coming back to power. The report was released following a petition filed by Joint Council General Secretary Jayachandran Kallingal in the Supreme Court questioning this. According to the contributory pension scheme, the share of the employees withheld by the government will be paid to their accounts.

The report also states that the share of the government can be taken back. There is no legal flaw in the implementation of contributory pensions. The finance department handed over a copy of the report to the petitioner yesterday.

The main recommendation of the commission is to grant minimum relief pension (ex gratia) to members of contributory pension with less than ten years of service. Those who have not served for 10 years currently get only a meagre amount as pension. Under the Statutory Pension Scheme, those with less than 10 years of service are not eligible for pension, so a minimum relief pension is provided. This should also be given to contributory pensioners. Rs 8,000-10,000 should be paid as a relief pension if the pensioner has 10 years of service. Those who were included in the rank lists before April 1, 2013 should be given an opportunity to opt for the old pension scheme.