8th Pay Commission: Why NC-JCM’s retirement benefit demands matter as consultations enter crucial phase
The 8th Pay Commission has now entered the second half of its 18-month tenure, with more than nine months of consultations and stakeholder discussions already completed. As the exercise moves into its next phase, retirement benefits, pension reforms and post-retirement welfare are expected to emerge as some of the biggest issues in the upcoming rounds of consultations.
The commission, constituted by the Centre on 3 November 2025, is chaired by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. Its other members include Professor Pulak Ghosh and Member-Secretary Pankaj Jain. Over the past few months, the panel has met with employee unions and associations across the country to gather feedback on salaries, allowances, pensions and other service-related issues.
The next round of consultations begins in Delhi on Thursday. After the meetings conclude on 10 August, the commission will hold discussions in Chennai, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Jaipur, with the Jaipur meetings scheduled for 31 August and 1 September.
As these consultations continue over the coming months, the memorandum submitted by the National Council-JCM (NC-JCM) is expected to remain a key reference document. The memorandum outlines several proposals aimed at strengthening retirement security, ensuring pension parity and improving post-retirement welfare for central government employees and pensioners.
Major pension and retirement benefit proposals by NC-JCM
|
Issue |
NC-JCM Demand |
|---|---|
| Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity (DCRG) | Calculate gratuity on 25 working days instead of 30, remove the 16.5-times ceiling, increase the gratuity limit from ₹25 lakh to ₹75 lakh, and extend revised benefits to OPS, NPS and UPS employees. |
| OROP for Civil Pensioners | Extend the One Rank One Pension principle to civilian pensioners and ensure pension revision with the same fitment factor as serving employees. |
| Leave Encashment | Raise Earned Leave encashment to 600 days and reimburse the full balance of Half Pay Leave at retirement. |
| Pension Commutation | Restore the commuted portion of pension after 11 years or at age 71, whichever is earlier, instead of 15 years. |
| Pension & Family Pension | Increase full pension to 67% of last pay drawn, raise family pension to 50%, extend enhanced family pension up to 70 years and introduce higher age-based pension rates from 65 years onwards. |
| Parity for Existing Pensioners | Extend all 8th CPC pension revisions to existing pensioners and family pensioners without retirement-date cut-offs. |
| Welfare Measures | Introduce HRA, LTC, caretaker allowance, income tax exemption on pension, restore railway concessions and provide additional support for senior citizens and disabled pensioners. |
| OPS, NPS & UPS | Withdraw NPS and UPS and restore the defined, non-contributory Old Pension Scheme for all Central Government employees. |
Note: The demands discussed above are indicative in nature. For the latest demands of NC-JCM and its views on other related issues, readers can refer to the union’s official memorandum.
8th Pay Commission consultations: The next few months could be decisive
The NC-JCM’s demands regarding pensions and retirement benefits, along with proposals from other employee unions and stakeholders, are likely to play a major role as the 8th Pay Commission works towards finalising its recommendations. Alongside the fitment factor and allowances, pension reforms are expected to be among the most closely watched aspects of the report.
With more than nine months already gone, the remaining consultations carry greater significance. Once the commission completes discussions with all stakeholders and reviews their suggestions, it will begin preparing its final recommendations. At present, the panel is expected to submit its report to the central government around May or June 2027, bringing its 18-month exercise to a close.
After the report is submitted, the Centre will examine its recommendations on the fitment factor, allowances, pension reforms and retirement benefits before deciding whether to approve and implement them. That makes the next few months particularly important for lakhs of serving central government employees and pensioners.
A Pay Commission is typically constituted once every 10 years, and its recommendations shape the salaries, pensions and allowances of government employees for the following decade. This is why every stage of the consultation process attracts close attention from employees’ unions and pensioners alike.
For context, the 6th Pay Commission, set up in July 2006 under Justice B.N. Srikrishna, recommended a fitment factor of 1.86. The 7th Pay Commission, constituted in February 2014 under Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur, recommended a fitment factor of 2.57. Attention is now firmly on the Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai-led panel and the recommendations it eventually makes on pay, pensions and retirement benefits.
