The Himachal Pradesh government has announced that employees recruited to various departments against posts advertised before May 15, 2003, will now be covered under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972. This decision brings significant pension relief to a large number of state government employees.
Transfer of NPS Contributions to GPF
According to a government spokesperson, the contributions made under the National Pension System (NPS) by all such employees who are still in service will be transferred from their NPS accounts to their General Provident Fund (GPF) accounts. These employees will also receive interest on the transferred amount at the applicable GPF rates.
Benefits for Retired Employees
Retired employees who were recruited against posts advertised before May 15, 2003, will also be covered under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972. Their pension will be paid from the date of their retirement. This ensures that those who have already retired will receive the benefits of the old pension scheme retrospectively.
Impact and Implementation
The decision is expected to benefit thousands of state government employees who were previously enrolled in the NPS. By switching to the old pension scheme, they will now be entitled to a defined benefit pension, which is generally more generous than the market-linked NPS. The government has not yet specified the timeline for the transfer of funds and the processing of pension revisions.
