National Pension System benefits to all state government employees

Amaravati: In a significant move, the state government has issued orders extending the benefits of retirement gratuity and death gratuity to the state government employees covered by Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). This decision will benefit more than three lakh state government employees, who joined service on or after September 1, 2004.

Employees covered under CPS will get retirement gratuity and death gratuity

The government in its order issued on Thursday said that the government employees covered by Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) will be eligible for benefit of retirement gratuity and death gratuity on the same terms and conditions as are applicable to employees covered by AP Revised Pension Rules, 1980. This will be effected to those employees who joined government service on or after September 1, 2004 and are covered by CPS from that date.

It may be recalled that the state government has introduced CPS to those employees who joined service on or after September 1, 2004 who were barred from the AP Revised Pension Rules, 1980. Accordingly they had foregone the benefit of gratuity.

Following representations from the respective service associations, which urged for grant of benefit of retirement gratuity and death gratuity on the lines of Centre`s National Pension System(NPS) covered by Central Civil Service(Pension) Rules, 1972, the state government has also decided to extend it to its employees covered under CPS.

Meanwhile, PRTU state president M Kamalakar, general secretary K Srinivasaraju thanked Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and MLC G Srinivasulu for taking initiative for extending the benefits of retirement gratuity and death gratuity to the state government employees too who are covered under CPS.