Of the 114,321 government employees in Jharkhand who were given the option to choose between the new (NPS) and old pension schemes (OPS), only 76 opted to continue with the NPS as of December 28, people aware of the development said on Thursday.
While a majority of the employees have opted for OPS, the others are of the view that they will benefit more in the long run by sticking to the NPS.
“I joined in 2006 and will retire in 2032. As per my calculation, the return which I am expected to get every month after retirement against the total accrued fund will be more than the monthly pension, which will be half of the last drawn salary. Going by the law of averages, all long-term investments in the market gives you a return of around 11-12 per cent,” said Rakesh Kumar, a Jharkhand administrative services officer, who has opted for the NPS.
Jharkhand was the third state after Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh to revive the OPS for their employees, replacing the NPS which came into force from April 1, 2004. Reviving OPS is gradually becoming a major political issue in several states. Experts described the electoral promise of reviving OPS as one of the major reasons behind the Congress’ victory in the recently concluded assembly election in Himachal Pradesh where the party wrested power from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Reviving OPS was an electoral promise of the Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in 2019 assembly elections, and the incumbent JMM-Congress-RJD combine government led by chief minister Hemant Soren implemented it from October 1 this year.
Also Read:Did Old Pension Scheme win Himachal Pradesh for the Congress?
Of the 114,321 state government employees who joined the service after 1 April 2004 since the NPS came into force, those who opted for it were directed to inform the concerned department about their choice by December 31.
Till Wednesday, of the eligible employees, 1,03,303 opted for the OPS, while 76 employees opted for the NPS, an official said.
“A major chunk of those who opted for the NPS includes those whose total service span in the government is less than 10 years. Secondly, a few employees who already have had a very long stint have also opted for NPS by now because their savings in the pension fund is already substantial. Such employees opted for the NPS as there is lack of clarity at this stage about what will happen to their fund, as the Centre has said there is no provision of returning the money to states that have gone back to OPS,” an official said, who is also an office bearer of an employee union having lobbied for the OPS.
However, there are exceptions in the list of those who have opted for the NPS. An assistant section officer in the state secretariat, who joined the service only four years ago, has also opted for the NPS.
“I still have 32 years of my service left. But I have opted for the NPS as I think, in the long run, I will benefit more in the NPS if stay invested in the market for such a long term. As far as risk involved due to fluctuations in the share market is concerned, it also holds true for the state of economic health of the government. If the economy gets so bad in three decades that we lose our money, then there have also been instances in the past when governments have failed to disburse salaries and pensions to their employees,” the officer said, requesting anonymity.
