Chief of defence staff Bipin Rawat seeks to cut pensions, up retirement age

NEW DELHI: Chief of defence staff Bipin Rawat has moved a proposal to reduce pensions of officers opting for early release from the armed forces and to increase the retirement age, especially for technical staff, to save costs, people aware of the development said. While the proposal to increase the retirement age has been welcomed, the move to cut down pensions of officers opting for early retirement may face legal challenges, experts said.

The proposal to increase retirement age of technically qualified soldiers and junior commissioned officers to 57 from the current 37-38 is expected to lead to major savings for the forces. While this will not be applicable to combat arms, technicians who specialise in maintaining weapon systems or ammunition will be given almost 20 years extra service, utilising their skills optimally and cutting down pension costs, sources said. “The organisation invests time and resources on training technicians to make them capable of undertaking specialised tasks,” one of them said. “However, due to the current terms of engagement, they come up for retirement while their professional skill is at its peak.”

A proposal to increase retirement age of generals, brigadiers and colonels by one to three years has been in the works and would lead to better utilisation of trained officers who retired at relatively early age, sources said. With life expectancy increasing, extending service life will benefit both the organisation and individuals who wish to serve, they said. “Almost all colonels and most brigadiers on retirement seek re-employment,” one of them said. “On grant of re-employment, highly qualified officers and experts in particular domains handle duties of the level of captains and majors.” The controversial part of the proposed changes is over changing rules for pensions of officers opting for premature release (PMR) from service.