Pension (Photo: Shutterstock)
Bank staff unions will raise the issue of restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) before the Indian Banks’ Association this week, days after the central government approved the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) for its employees that will come into effect from April 1, 2025.
Rupam Roy, general secretary of the All India Association of Bank Officers (AIBOC), told Business Standard that the unions had discussed the notification (OPS for government employees). The pension issue will be taken up in a meeting with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) this week.
“What the central government implements influences the decision-making of bank managements. Our main demand is that there should be a social benefit system where the employee does not contribute. It is a social security benefit,” Roy said. AIBOC is a member of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU).
The banks, represented by IBA and UFBU, representing employees and management, signed an MoU for salary revision in December 2023 and agreed to continue discussion on outstanding issues, including pensions. The banks’ pension fund does not provide services to employees recruited on or after April 1, 2010, who are covered by other schemes such as the National Pension Scheme (NPS) under the aegis of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
Employees hired before April 2010 are eligible for the bank pension. Those who have worked for 28 years in a bank will receive the full pension benefit. The pension is calculated as 50 percent of their average basic salary during the last 10 months of service.
A senior official of the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) said that while UPS is better than NPS, it will take some time to understand all the implications and how close it is to OPS.
The demand for restoration of OPS for bank employees will be made automatically. The detailed response from the banking sector unions will be formulated after examining the details, the AIBEA official said.
First published: August 26, 2024 | 19:08 IS
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