8th Pay Commission: No change in CGEGIS since 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th CPCs; what's expected now?

In its memorandum to the 8th CPC, Ministerial Staff Association (MSA), Survey of India, told the Commission that CGEGIS “has not been revised since its inception in 1990”. It also said that the current cover is “woefully inadequate to provide any meaningful financial security to the family of a deceased employee in the event of an unfortunate demise.” As a remedy to this issue, the MSA has suggested the following:

"The insurance cover under CGEGIS must be increased by at least 10 times the current rates to reflect modern living costs and the inflationary environment.”

According to the Federation of National Postal Organisations (FNPO), the CGEGIS insurance slabs have remained substantially tethered to 4th Pay Commission recommendations of over 40 years ago.

CGEGIS slab for Group C employees remains pegged at ₹1,50,000 , a figure traced to the 4th Pay Commission, according to the FNPO.

In its memorandum, the FNPO noted that “The 7th CPC explicitly acknowledged this disparity and recommended substantial upward revision. Despite this, the Government maintained the 1980s-era slabs, leaving millions without a credible safety net.”

"The current payouts fail to cover even basic survival costs for a bereaved family in 2026," it added.

The FNPO has proposed a tiered overhaul of CGEGIS cover: ₹1 crore cover for Group C at ₹1,000 a month, ₹1.50 crore for Group B at ₹1,500, and ₹3 crore for Group A at ₹3,000 a month. The NCJCM Staff Side also made a similar demand in its memorandum to the 8th CPC.

As a baseline, the FNPO wants the immediate implementation of the 7th CPC slabs: ₹15 lakh, ₹25 lakh and ₹50 lakh for Groups C, B and A, respectively, then revised forward to 2026 salary levels, with automatic inflation-indexed 25% increases whenever dearness allowance crosses 50%.

Meanwhile, the Railway Senior Citizens' Welfare Society (RSCWS) has said that CGEGIS benefits “are not commensurate with the monthly contributions deducted over long periods” and that the cover “needs to be enhanced to reflect present-day financial requirements.”.

Currently, the scheme offers a modest lump sum to the family on death during duty, plus a savings element returned at maturity, split in a 3:7 insurance-to-savings ratio that the FNPO wants inverted to 70:30 in favour of insurance.

"70:30 Savings-to-Insurance Ratio: Maintain equitable ratio ensuring insurance cover provides immediate protection and savings element provides superannuation lump sum," FNPO recommended to the 8th CPC.

"At present the ratio between premium and saving is 3:7. The Government may change this ratio as per the changes in the average mortality ratio. We request the commission to recommend our suggestion to the Government," the Staff Side said.

Why CGEGIS has been ignored for such a long period is one of the key issues flagged in most memorandums to the 8th CPC.

The FNPO as well as the Staff Side said that the 5th, 6th and 7th Pay Commissions recommended "to introduce the subscription rates and enhance the insurance coverage but the government did not change the scheme at all."