Serving, retired employees of public sector insurers to benefit from pension option

Chennai, March 4 (IANS) Retired and serving employees of government-owned insurance companies are happy at the Centre's decision to offer another chance to opt for pension scheme.

"I am happy with the interest rates on bank deposits sliding down, getting a steady pension income is good. I am going to opt for pension," Y. Sivam, a retired employee of National Insurance Company Ltd, told IANS on Monday.

A serving employee in the same company on the condition of anonymity, said: "Earlier I didn't opt for the pension scheme as the situation was different. But now the circumstances have changed. And I am going to retire in a couple of years down the line, it is better to have pension."

According to the employee, the amount that a retired employee has to refund as the company's share of provident fund can be recovered through monthly pension in couple of years time.

On a poll year, the welfare measure is expected to benefit 42,720 employees (serving and retired) of which 24,595 are of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and 18,125 of public sector general insurers.

The Central government recently decided to allow one more opportunity to employees of government-owned general insurers who had joined on or before June 28, 1995, to opt for pension as retirement benefit.

In April 1997, employees of LIC and public sector general insurance companies namely-General Insurance Corporation of India, National Insurance, Oriental Insurance Company and New India Assurance Company, who joined service on or before June 28, 1995, were given another opportunity to opt for pension, as a retirement benefit.

The scheme was introduced after the insurers had hired large number of freshers in 1990.

But, many eligible employees could not exercise the option and there has been a long standing demand from them to be given another option.

In order to mitigate the hardship of such employees of whom many have retired, government has decided as a welfare measure, to allow one more opportunity to employees of general insurers to opt for pension scheme in lieu of contributory provident fund.

The pension option is not available for those who had resigned from the company, said an official of an public sector insurance company.