New Pension Scheme-How good is it?

Every thing you want to know about the New pension scheme for Central Government employees of India

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Every thing you want to know about the New Pension scheme

New Pension scheme is not an oasis for retirement years + The origin of NPS

Join the Central Government Contributory Pension employees Forum
I was working in central goverment under new pension scheme from jan 2004 under new pension scheme.
i have quit that job in may 2007. Now i want to get back money which i have put under NPS,I have tried a lot but i cant get my money back till now. Department says we dont know the procedure for filling form under NPS.how to get back that money?

I was appointed to Department of Posts at age 56 on January 2005 and thus come under the new pension scheme.I got retired on April 2009.The Department has not given me any benefits other than the earned leave encashment until now.When asked about the contributory pension fund,I received the reply from the authority that they don't know about the procedure.

The new pension scheme for central government employees appointed on or after 1-1-2004 has raised several questions among employees as above for which even the supreme authorities does not have a answer right now.The scheme is still in a building up phase even after 6 years of announcing it.So how long are we supposed to wait? The formation of this website on September 11 2009 is an initial part of building up a Central Government Contributory Pension employees Forum to solve such issues of new pension scheme employees and to challenge the negative aspects of the NPS.Join the Central Government Contributory Pension employees Forum.The contacts will be published here soon.

About the New Pension scheme

The New Pension Scheme of Contributory pension is applicable to all Central Government Employees who joined after 1-1-2004.It has been in the pipeline for at least five years but it finally took shape in 2007-08. Although the government was pushing for the scheme after a law providing statutory backing to the regulator was enacted, the Left parties, which were supporting the UPA government, did not allow the passage of the Bill. So, last year, the government decided to go ahead by allowing the NPS Trust to enter management agreements with fund managers.

The new pension scheme was first announced in the Indian Budget-2003-04
http://www.prsindia.org/docs/bills/1167471772/bill74_2006123074_NEW_PENSION_SCHEME_NOTIFICATION.pdf

As per the notification,
The system would be mandatory for new recruits to the central Government
service except the armed forces and the monthly contribution would be 10
percent of the salary and DA to be paid by the employee and matched by the
Central Government. However, there will be no contribution from the Government
in respect of individuals who are not Government employees. The contributions
and investment returns would be deposited in a non-withdrawable pension tier-I
account. The existing provisions of defined benefit pension and GPF would not be
available to the new recruits in the central Government service.

The CPF recovery is just like the EPF where employee puts 10% of his salary+DA and and an equal contribution is put by the employer,which in case of the CPF is the Government of India.But whereas EPF allows Loan and full amount final withdrawal,no such facility is there for CPF and the whole contribution amount is locked up until the employee plans to retire.Also there are restrictions of 40% and 80% on retirement withdrawal.As per now,no tax relief is available on the CPF lump sum maturity amount because the principal applied is EET (exempt exempt and tax) whereas the investments qualify relief under section 80 CCD up to specified limits.

The new pension scheme for central govt employees appointed on or after
1-1-2004 is described in the Swamy's hand book-2007 page 264.
It says:

Retirement at 60yrs of age:
It is mandatory to invest 40% of pension wealth in an annuity to provide
pension for life time of the employee andhis dependent parents/spouse.

Retirement before 60yrs of age:
In cases where the employees leave the scheme before 60yrs of age,80%
of pension wealth is mandatory for investment.

The hand book also says that there will be no GPF or GRATUITY for the new pension scheme employees and pension benefits will be taxable.

There is a tier-ii option under construction substituting GPF for new employees but it reduces another 10% of pay.If calculated,thus we can see that the new pension scheme employees are actually getting 10 % less pay than the old pension scheme staff.[Details of Tier ii scheme]

So What benefits does the NPS offer?The government plans to have options,A,B and C based on the proportions in equity and fixed securities.

Under Option A, 60 per cent of the assets will be held in government securities, 30 per cent in investment grade corporate bonds and 10 per cent in equity. Under Option B, the asset allocation will be 40 per cent, 40 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively. Under Option C, 50 per cent of the assets will be held in equity and the balance 50 per cent will be split between government securities and corporate bonds.

But so far,only the default option exists as per the official website of NPS-http://npscra.nsdl.co.in/

So what is the default option as in the website?

As per the present guidelines of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority(PFRDA),contribution towards pension will be invested in the default Schemes termed Scheme of various Pension Fund Managers in the proportion of 85% in fixed income instruments and 15% in equity and equity related instruments.

As per PFRDA notification on May 2009,the contribution was thus divided for three fund managers revised-29% LIC Pension Fund,31% in UTI retirement benefit plan,and 40% in SBI Pension Fund for the Financial year 2009-10.Source-(Financial Express dtd May 3rd 2009)

The above said percentage can be decided by the employee in the future and the option of percentage to be divided to the three fund managers is given in the NPS Subscription Form.


ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE OF NPS

The administrative setup of NPS subscription is planned as:

Employee>Paying officer>DDO>PAO>PrAO>PFRDA/CRA/NSDL>Trustee Bank>Pension Fund managers

Download the Interim administrative arrangement in pdf format(Right click and save target as...)



IS THIS SCHEME GOOD?

There is a wide spread rumour that the new pension scheme offers amount in Lumpsum amount and therefore it is better than the old pension scheme.How much truth is there in it?Let's see...

Please note:The below calculations are based on pay of a Group C cadre of scale 5200-20200(2400 Grade Pay) and if the government puts the whole investment in fixed instruments of 8% annual interest.The percentage of investments in equity which is speculated cannot be calculated.It purely depends on how efficient the appointed fund manager is.The principal amount of contribution without interest otherwise is:
Based on 10 years-210000(employee contribution)+210000(Govt contribution)=Rs420000
Based on 20 years-540000(employee contribution)+540000(Govt contribution)=Rs1080000

Therefore the amount of pension you get is purely based on the scheme you chose.As per now,there is no scheme which allows to put 100% in fixed instruments and the figures are just to compare the retirement benefits of old and new pension scheme.

Old and New Pension scheme comparison after completing 10 years(before 60 years)

CPF Calculation

Contribution amt –yearly amount+balance+8% annual interest
1300 ist year-15600+1248=16848
1400 ii year - 16800+16848+2691=36339
1500 iii year-18000+36339+4347=58686
1600 iv year- 19200+58686+6230=84116
1700 v year-20400+84116+8361=112877
1800 vi year-21600+112877+10758=145235
1900 vii year-22800+145235+13442=181477
2000 viii year-24000+181477+16438=221915
2100 ix year-25200+221915+19769=266884
2200 x year-26400+266884+23462=316746

If equal government contribution also provides interest, Total tier-1 amount is 316746x2=Rs633492

80% in pension fund=506794
Amt you get at the time of retiring=Rs126698+Rs 3378 monthly pension (8% interest of Rs506794 in a pension fund)+no gratuity

For old pension scheme after 10 years
GPF =316746
Gratuity=110000[1/4*(last bp+da)*(10*2)]
Total amount= Rs426746+Monthly pension Rs 3500+da (minimum pension )

Thus Comparison of old and new pension scheme gives over Rupees 3 lakh less benefits in lump sum amount and lesser monthly pension for new employees after ten years of service for below 60 years retirement.




Old and New Pension scheme comparison after completing 10 years(reaching 60 years age)


If equal government contribution also provides interest, Total tier-1 amount is 316746x2=Rs633492

40% in pension fund=253396
Amt you get at the time of retiring=Rs380096+Rs 1689 monthly pension (8% interest of Rs253396 in a pension fund)+no gratuity

For old pension scheme after 10 years
GPF =316746
Gratuity=110000[1/4*(last bp+da)*(10*2)]
Total amount=Rs426746+Monthly pension Rs 3500+da (minimum pension )

Thus Comparison of old and new pension scheme gives over Rupees 50000 less benefits in lump sum amount and Rs 1800 lesser monthly pension for new employees after ten years of service for age 60 retirement.




Old and New Pension scheme comparison after completing 20 years(before 60 years)


CPF Calculation

Contribution amt –yearly amount+balance+8% annual interest
1300 ist year-15600+1248=16848
1400 ii year - 16800+16848+2691=36339
1500 iii year-18000+36339+4347=58686
1600 iv year- 19200+58686+6230=84116
1700 v year-20400+84116+8361=112877
1800 vi year-21600+112877+10758=145235
1900 vii year-22800+145235+13442=181477
2000 viii year-24000+181477+16438=221915
2100 ix year-25200+221915+19769=266884
2200 x year-26400+266884+23462=316746
2300xi year-27600+316746+27547=371893
2400xii year-28800+371893+32055=432748
2500xiii year-30000+432748+37019=499767
2600xiv year-31200+499767+42477=573444
2700xv year-32400+573444+48467=654311
2800xvi year-33600+654311+55032=742943
2900xvii year-34800+742943+62219=839962
3000xviii year-36000+839962+70076=946038
3100xix year- 37200+946038+78659=1061897
3200xx year-38400+1061897+88023=1188320

If equal government contribution also provides interest, Total Tier-1 amount is 1188320x2=Rs2376640
80% in an annuity pension fund scheme=1901312
Amt you get at the time of retiring=Rs475328+Rs 12675 monthly pension (8% interest of Rs506794 in a pension fund)+no gratuity

For old pension scheme after 20 years
GPF =1188320
Gratuity= 320000 i.e. [1/4*(last bp+da)*(no of every completed six month of service)]
Total amount= Rs1508320+Monthly pension approax Rs 16000+da (half of last bp+da )

Thus Comparison of old and new pension scheme gives over Rupees 10 lakh less benefits in lump sum amount and Rs 4000 lesser monthly pension for new employees after twenty years of service for below age 60 retirement.



Old and New Pension scheme comparison after completing 20 years(reaching 60 years age)

If equal government contribution also provides interest, Total Tier-1 amount is 1188320x2=Rs2376640
40% in an annuity pension fund scheme=950656
Amt you get at the time of retiring=Rs1425984+Rs 6300 fixed monthly pension (8% interest of Rs950656 in a pension fund)+no gratuity

For old pension scheme after 20 years
GPF =1188320
Gratuity= 320000 i.e. [1/4*(last bp+da)*(no of every completed six month of service)]
Total amount=Rs1508320+Monthly pension approax Rs 16000+da (half of last bp+da )

Thus Comparison of old and new pension scheme gives over Rupees 1 lakh less benefits in lump sum amount and Rs 9700 lesser monthly pension for new employees after twenty years of service for age 60 retirement.


And some final questions:

1.The Government notifications only explains about giving a fixed pension with this amount through a annuity and not about giving this huge amount of money back to the employee at anytime.So what happens to the huge principal amount(19 lakh in the case of a VRS) when the pension ceases after the pensioner and his dependent's death?

2.Why doesn't the government give the whole money of contribution as on EPF for the employee at the time of retirement to invest in bank atleast and enjoy interest or his choice of investment?Why is the government putting restrictions of 40% and 80% to be only invested in annuity pension scheme without giving any other choice to employee's hard earned money?

3.Isn't it a violation of Payment of Gratuity Act-1972 when the employer,who is the Government of India,has decided to give no gratuity to new employees without passing the new bill?

4.While EPF provides loan upto 36 months of wage,there is no scope for any loan in CPF,the money is blocked until the employee retires.What should a new employee do in case of an urgent requirement for building a house or marriage of children?

5.No amount is taken from Member to give Pension to the Member in case of EPF Pension scheme. Employer and Govt. contributes to Pension fund @8.33% and @1.16% respectively.Whereas in CPF,the whole contribution including the employees' is restricted.










Please note:The above calculations are based on pay of a Group C cadre of scale 5200-20200(2400 Grade Pay) and if the government puts the investment in fixed instruments of 8% annual interest.The percentage of investments in equity which is speculated cannot be calculated.

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Questions

I was working in central goverment under new pension scheme from jan 2004 under new pension scheme.
i have quit that job in may 2007. Now i want to get back money which i have put under NPS,I have tried a lot but i cant get my money back till now. Department says we dont know the procedure for filling form under NPS.how to get back that money?

Ans:Dear friend,Please file Right To Information Application with CPIO of Department of Pension and Public Grievances, Govt of India,New Delhi duly paying proper application fee and seek the copy of procedure in question.You can also submit it to your concerned DDO.You have every right to get the accumulated money.The formation of this website on September 11 2009 is an initial part of building up a new employees forum to solve such issues of new employees.We might plan to also give an RIT application,will let you know through the website.

Source: http://newpension.blogspot.in/2009/08/new-pension-scheme-threat-for-lower.html?m=1

Painful Reality Behind India Post COD Services

Thousands of products from e-commerce companies such as Amazon, Snapdeal, Flipkart, HomeShop18, Shopclues, Naptol and Yepme are reaching the remotest corners of India everyday, owing to their last-mile partnership with India Post, the government-operated postal network. On its part, India Post transacted business worth Rs 500 crore in cash-on-delivery alone for e-commerce players in 2014-15. Its revenue from this business rose from Rs 20 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 100 crore in 2013-14. But that’s just one side of the story.

To reach as many customers as possible at the fastest pace, even if it means getting drones to do the job, online retailers are learnt to be coping with the infrastructure hurdles of India Post. In fact, many leading companies are said to be directly in touch with Union minister of communications, Ravi Shankar Prasad, as well as senior bureaucrats in the ministry, to resolve last-mile issues.

While e-commerce companies tied up with India Post to reach India’s interiors and access pin codes that no courier company could, this has helped them only in a limited manner. On bicycles, India Post delivery men hardly match courier boys on motorbikes, who are faster and are also able to carry heavier parcels. Some postmen have to walk on rough terrains to reach distant addresses with parcels containing anything from mobile phones and apparel to fancy accessories and kitchenware.

A senior Snapdeal executive told, “As most of the India Post team uses bicycles, we have ensured products weighing less than five kg are routed through them for delivery.” Against that, a courier delivery boy often carries parcels 10 times the size, according to industry sources. An Amazon spokesperson said, “We appreciate and understand that the last-mile delivery methodology of India Post is mostly on bicycles and we are in discussions with India Post to come up with a solution/delivery methodology for large-sized Amazon packages.”

Flipkart did not respond to a questionnaire on the issue.

An official at India Post said the department was gearing up for the challenges and infrastructure was being upgraded. The department has already generated substantial revenue from its tie-up with e-commerce companies. While there’s no word yet on replacing bicycles with motorbikes and on whether the current India Post delivery staff, typically much older than those employed by private courier companies, are ready for the change, the official said logistics could be outsourced to a third party for delivery of goods, depending on volume.

Currently, the slow mode of sending parcels via India Post to pin codes unheard of is upsetting the sales targets of top e-commerce companies, for which every missed delivery could translate into a lower GMV (gross merchandise volume) and valuation. Also, it could mean missing the next round of funding from a marquee investor.

There are other issues, too. For instance, a Bengaluru-based online retailer-cum-stylist had partnered India Post in 2013. However, according to its co-founder, the two-year-old company had to discontinue the arrangement after it was found postmen were seeking money from customers for deliveries to remote areas such those in the Northeast. “Such incidents are serious enough to malign the reputation of a company,” he said.

Another challenge is the India Post delivery team doesn’t get any volume-based incentive because it’s a government organisation.

On the other hand, private courier companies were often enthused by such offers, an official said.

The fact that 70-80 per cent of orders for companies such as Flipkart and Snapdeal are from non-metro areas shows how critical it is for them to compete in the remotest parts of India. Amazon, for example, took pride in saying it had delivered a parcel to pin code 790002 — a destination called Balemu in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district.

The dark side of the e-commerce revolution is equally real. A recent Wall Street Journal report had highlighted the plight of courier boys carrying parcels weighing 23-46 kg in large backpacks day after day, all for a monthly salary of less than Rs 10,000. “This low-tech army of urban sherpas hauls bags of online purchases down narrow alleys and up flights of stairs, lugging everything from laser printers and kitchen appliances to cans of Coca-Cola for their country’s burgeoning consumer class,” the report had said.

Source:http://www.closevoice.com

Courtesy:http://www.potools.blogspot.in/ 

Vetting of 7th Pay Commission report under process, increase in minimum pay is expected

Vetting of 7th Pay Commission report under process, increase in minimum pay is expected

Vetting of 7th Pay Commission report under process, increase in minimum pay is expected, Please read this news paper report published in English Daily:-

Source POTools blog

Intelligence Bureau warned DoP on 3 days dharna from 19.01.16 to 21.01.16 by NJCA

Intelligence Bureau warned DoP on 3 days dharna from 19.01.16 to 21.01.16 by NJCA

Source POTools blog

Central Excise Officials Announce ’Satyagraha’ On Jan 17 Against Pay Commission Report ; Govt Expects No Impact

New Delhi: Central Excise officials have decided to launch a country-wide ‘satyagraha’ (civil disobedience) on January 17, ahead of the Union Budget presentation against the Seventh Pay Commission report. The government, however, said they expect the impact to be Nil.

CBEC Chairman Najib Shah

Ravi Malik, Secretary General, All India Association of Central Excise Superintendents, has written a letter to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley complaining about the lack of career growth options available to them besides salary issues.

In his letter Malik said, “They are forced to retire at a PB2 post with only single promotion in the career after joining as Inspector whereas their counterparts are easily enjoying PB4 levels after getting 5-6 promotions.”

He has complained that Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has been apathetic towards their problems.

He alleges the CBEC has not put their problems seriously before the Seventh Pay Commission. Hence the pay commission rejected their demands.

He added that they would go on a ‘Satyagraha’ on January 17 to draw the attention of the Finance Ministry to their demands.

CBEC sources said yesterday that there will be no impact on Satyagraha due to January 17 is Sunday,

However, CBEC asked the employees list from subordinate offices who will get involved in Satyagraha.

TST

Source : SAPost blog

FRIDAY, 15 JANUARY 2016 68th Indian Army Day: Some interesting facts about the Indian Army

Army Day is celebrated on January 15, every year to commemorate the day when Lieutenant General K. M. Cariappa took over as Commander-in-Chief of India on January 1949. He took over the position from General Sir Francis Butcher.

Some interesting facts about the Indian Army:

A great example of selfless service and brotherhood and above all, love for the country is what the Indian Army is all about.

Source : http://indiatoday.intoday.in

Courtesy : SA Post Blog

Major Initiatives Of The Department Of Posts In The Last 18 Months Jan 16, 2016

Transforming physical network into digital network

• 27,500 Post Offices, mail offices and administrative offices networked into a country-wide W N making it the largest single-organization W N in the country. Disaster Recovery Centre (DRC) at Mysore operationalized on 15th May 2015.

W N has linked all the Post Offices to the Data Centre facility at Mumbai and enabled Department to roll out Core Banking Solution, Core Insurance, Core System Integrator applications that all operate on a common database and help customers access their accounts/policies from any Post Office as well as on the internet.

• Core Banking Solution (CBS) rolled out in 8623 Post Offices along with 125 TMs. CBS shall be rolled-out in all 25,000 Departmental POs by 31st March 2016.
• Core Insurance Solution (CIS) rolled out in 19,537 Post Offices and shall be rolled out in all 25,000 Departmental POs by 31st December 2015.
• Upto 31st March 2016, solar powered, biometric hand-held devices with connectivity shall be supplied to about 20,000 rural Branch Post Offices. The application for these hand-held devices is being developed by Infosys and User Acceptance Testing is scheduled for December 2015. All 130,000 devices would be rolled-out by March 2017.

Benefits of Hand-held device to the rural citizen 

1. Electronic transactions- Booking and delivery of Speed Post, registered mail, money orders, sale of stamps and postal stationery will be done through these devices and paper receipt shall be generated
2. instantaneously thereby eliminating chances of overcharging and other problems associated with manual transactions. Savings Bank deposits & withdrawals, PLI/RPLI premium deposits and loan/claim payments will also be done electronically on these devices.
3. Immediate uploading of transaction data and financial  reconciliation- Using mobile connectivity, data pertaining to all transactions done on the hand-held devices shall be uploaded onto the central server. E-Money order will reach the destination post office instantaneously unlike present day where the money order is digitized at the nearest computerized Post Office and leads to delay in delivery. All financial transactions shall also be reconciled immediately without any manual intervention and Cash on Delivery amount collected in the village shall be immediately credited to the account of e-Commerce Company. Similarly the artisans would be able to fulfill e-commerce orders and receive immediate payment for their sold products online. This will have a positive impact on the overall economy of the villages.
4. Automatic track and trace- Speed Post and Registered letters/parcels and money remittances will be trackable at the Branch Post Office level and booking/delivery information will also be uploaded to central server immediately.
5. Fraud and leakage elimination- As Savings Bank and Postal Life Insurance transactions will be done on a real-time basis and through immediate generation of receipt and voice message, chances of fraud would be eliminated. Biometric authentication of MNREGS and social security beneficiaries at the time of pay-out would also reduce leakage in the schemes
6. Post Offices as Common Service Centres- Branch Post Offices shall be able to work as Common Service Centres and offer services such as Railway Reservation, online bill payment for electricity and water utilities, mobile and DTH recharge, insurance policy premium payments & transactions for partner banks/insurance companies/mutual funds etc

Promoting Financial Inclusion 

• Number of Post Office Savings accounts increased from 30.86 Crore to 33.53 Crore and total deposits of POSB accounts and Cash Certificates to Rs 6.4 Lakh Crore.
• More than 75 lakh Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana accounts opened with a cumulative investment of more than Rs 2100 Crore since launch on 22nd January 2015. Public Sector Banks have opened a total of 1,08,478 accounts upto 31st August 2015.
• More than 1.4 Crore Kisan Vikas Patras sold, attracting an investment of more than Rs 12,400 Crore since launch on 18th November 2014.

Banks are yet to sell any KVP.

• Launch of PM Suraksha Bima Yojana and PM Jeewan Jyoti Yojana for Post Office Savings Bank account holders in CBS Post Offices on 7th September 2015 after approval of Ministry of Finance in ugust 2015.SO far, more than 50,000 policies have been sold to POSB customers.
• Increase in maximum sum assured in Postal Life Insurance from Rs 20 Lakh to Rs 50 lakh and for Rural PLI from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh in order to provide more investment opportunities to customers and also increase claim amount to nominees in case of death.
• Driving e-Commerce revolution in rural and semi-urban India 
• Department has tied-up with Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon, YepMe, Shopclues etc for delivering e-Commerce pre-paid as well as Cash on Delivery (CoD) orders. Amazon the largest business partner in e-Commerce (Rs 35 Crore revenue in the current FY from Amazon)
• Parcel revenue which registered 2% decline in 2013-14, registered 37% growth in 2014-15. 117% growth in parcel revenue till 31st October 2015 in the current FY.
• Rs 800 Crore COD collection by DoP so far and this figure this likely to
• cross Rs 1500 Crores by the end of the current FY.
• 48 integrated state-of-the-art parcel centres have been created for booking, processing and delivery of e-Commerce parcels. 9 more such Centres are being established in the current FY.

Speed Post 

Speed Post revenue growth in the current FY is more than 16% 

Setting up of Payments Bank 

1. RBI has accorded in-principle approval for setting up of Department of Posts Payments Bank on 7th September 2015. As per this approval, DoP has to operationalize the Payments Bank before 6th March 2017. 
2. Public Investment Board (PIB) memo was circulated by the Department among stake-holder Ministries/Departments, for which comments have been received and are being incorporated in the final memo. After PIB recommendations, final approval for setting up of Payments Bank shall be obtained from the Cabinet. 
3. RFP is being circulated among the bidders shortlisted through EOI for selecting a Consultant for the Project 

Common Service Centres 

• Department has signed an Agreement with Common Service Centre, an SPV under DeitY, on 12th October 2015, for rolling out Common Service Centre services in rural Post Offices and also appointing existing CSCs as Post Office franchisee. 
• A total of 22 CSCs are being rolled out in rural Post Offices of 4 pilot Circles (Bihar, UP, MP and Gujarat) before 31st December 2015.
• Source : Sa Post Blog