8th Pay Commission: How maximum pension increased from ₹4,500 to ₹1.15 lakh in the lead up to 8th CPC

Along with recommending a hike in central government salaries, the 8th pay commission is also expected to recommend a hike in pensions currently being provided to eligible retirees.

Retired central government employees are receiving their pensions as per the recommendations of the 7th CPC.

As per the 7th CPC, the minimum pension provided to retired employees is ₹9,000 while the maximum pension is approx. ₹1,15,650. However, this has not always been the case.

The minimum pension provided by the central government increased by around 2300% from ₹350 to ₹9000 between the 4th and 7th pay commissions. The maximum pension drawn by the central pensioners increased from just ₹4500 in the 4th CPC to ₹1.15 lakh in the 7th CPC.

Pension hike history

In the 4th CPC, the minimum recommended pension was ₹375 while the maximum pension was ₹4500. However, the 5th CPC raised the bar, recommending a minimum pension of ₹1275 and a maximum pension of ₹15,000.

The 6th CPC increased the minimum and maximum pensions to ₹3500 and ₹45,000 respectively. The 7th CPC raise the pensions further.

The 7th CPC recommended increasing previously provided pay and pensions to central government employees by a factor of 2.57. Thus the minimum pension increased from ₹3500 to ₹9000 (₹3500x2.57) and the maximum pension jumped from ₹45,000 to ₹1,15,650 (₹45,000x2.57).

Family pension hike history

Over the years, the family pension provided to families of deceased central government employees has also increased considerably.

The 6th CPC had recommended the calculation of pension at 50% of the last pay or the average emoluments (for the last 10 months), whichever is more beneficial. Additionally, it recommended delinking of pension from qualifying service of 33 years.

The 7th CPC did not propose any increase in the pension and family pension rates beyond what was recommended by the 6th CPC.