8th Pay Commission: Will civilian pensioners get One Rank One Pension? Key proposals explained
The 8th Pay Commission today, 3 September, completes 10 months since its constitution on 3 November 2025. The 8th Pay Commission is a temporary body, given 18 months by the Union government to compile and submit its report on pay revisions, pension reforms, allowances and related aspects. The final report is tentatively expected to be submitted by the Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai-led panel in May-June 2027.
The Commission is scheduled to meet with several other employee associations, unions and stakeholders in the coming weeks. The upcoming meetings in Chandigarh from 16-18 September and in Bengaluru on 7-8 October can once again bring pension-related demands and grievances, including One Rank One Pension (OROP) for civilian employees, into focus.
These demands revolve around a key disparity: Employees retiring from the same rank after similar years of service can end up receiving pensions depending on when they retire.
Here are pension-related demands from various unions and associations.
Why do civilian employees want OROP?
Consider two different Level 6 employees with comparable service. One retires in 2016 under the 7th Pay Commission and receives a basic pension of ₹24,500, with 58% Dearness Relief, which is about ₹38,710. A comparable individual retiring in 2026 can receive a significantly higher pension under the 8th Pay Commission.
This is where the concept of OROP comes into the picture. Civilian OROP, modelled on the armed forces system, seeks to ensure that employees retiring from the same rank with similar qualifying service receive comparable pensions irrespective of their actual retirement date.
Through their memorandums, several prominent employee and pensioner organizations have raised related demands before the 8th Pay Commission. These demands are discussed below.
Fitment factor may eventually determine outcome
The NCJCM has proposed a 3.833 fitment factor and extension of revised benefits to pre-2026 retirees. It has also sought pay and pension revisions every five years rather than the current 10-year cycle.
If the 3.833 factor is adopted, the pension for a Level 6 employee retiring in 2026 could be around ₹93,900, based on the proposals cited. Whereas the one who retired in 2016 will continue to earn about ₹38,710. Hence, without a corresponding notional revision for earlier retirees, the pension gap could persist.
That also makes ‘notional fixation’ central to the OROP demand. A higher pension for new retirees alone would not create parity; past retirees would also need to be brought to an equivalent level.
As the 8th Pay Commission consultative and discussion process continues, the upcoming meetings could provide another platform for eligible employee unions and pensioner representatives to press these demands.
The question before the 8th Pay Commission will be whether it merely revises pension levels, provides OROP to civilian employees or also addresses the disparity in retirement ages between generations of pensioners. Any official details will only be known after the 8th Pay Commission submits its final report to the government.
