CHENNAI: Two days after welcoming the Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme (TAPS), the Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers Organisations and Government Employees Organsations (JACTTO-GEO) and the Tamil Nadu Revenue Officials Association have urged the state government to implement the TAPS with retrospective effect from January 1, 2026, and withdraw the 10% contribution by employee to the TAPS.
These two demands assume significance since the state government may implement the TAPS from January 1, 2027, and the employees’ contribution to the New Pension Scheme is the key aspect, which the state government employees have been opposing for the past two decades.
The JACTTO-GEO also urged the state government to refund the employees’ contributions with interest at retirement and fix the qualifying period for full pension at 25 years. Besides, the council also urged the government to fulfil the nine charter demands of the employees and teachers at the earliest.
“While JACTTO-GEO acknowledges that TAPS incorporates most of the core features of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), it does not claim that it is identical to the OPS in entirety. Nevertheless, the scheme safeguards the post-retirement livelihood and dignity of nearly 6.75 lakh employees,” the council said.
Still, unlike the OPS, the employees have to contribute 10% of their salary every month until retirement, and the accumulated amount is not refundable as a lump sum at retirement. Hence, the condition of a 10% contribution should be waived.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Revenue Officials Association president, MP Murugaiyan, said the government should transfer the amounts deducted from the salaries of the employees to the General Provident Fund and that the government should guarantee full pension after 20 years of service.
Besides, the TAPS should be implemented immediately. One of the key demands is that the government should permit 15% commutation of pension as in the OPS. Besides, the government should immediately sanction pension and family pension to retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and bereaved families.