The Retired Employees Welfare Association (REWA) recently wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking clarity on pension revision for central government employees who retired before January 1, 2026. The association has requested the finance ministry to amend the 8th CPC ToR to include pension and family pension revision clauses for these pensioners.
In a letter dated September 7, 2026, REWA General Secretary Sadhu Singh expressed concerns on behalf of 6.9 million pensioners and family pensioners who retired before January 1, 2026. The association said there is serious confusion and apprehension over whether the 8th CPC would also recommend a revision of their pension and family pension.
Quoting the 8th CPC ToR, which was notified in November 2025, the REWA said that Point No. 2(e) of the ToR says that the Commission will “review the structure of death-cum-retirement gratuity and pension including NPS/UPS and outside NPS for the employees.”
The REWA said that in this only the pension of serving employees is mentioned and nothing is clearly written about the revision of the pension and family pension of ex-employees, that is pensioners who retired before January 1, 2026.
The association claimed that the ToRs of previous pay commissions clearly mentioned provisions for pension and family pension revision. Referring to the 7th Pay Commission ToR, the association said that the ToR had clarity over pension revision.
The REWA letter said, “To examine, review, evolve and recommend changes relating to pay, allowances and retirement benefits, including pension structure and other retirement benefits including revision of pre-retirement pension.”
The REWA claimed that in the 6th and 5th Pay Commissions also, the words “pensioners” and “family pensioners” were explicitly mentioned.
The REWA said that to remove the ambiguity, the association also sent letters to the Finance Minister and Finance Secretary for clarification but no clarification has been issued. There is discussion on social media and other pensioner’s organisation that the government is going to do injustice to the old pensioners, the association said.
The organisation requested that the ToR issued by the finance ministry on 3.11.2025 be amended to explicitly add that “The 8th Pay Commission shall also make recommendations for revision of pension/family pension of all pensioners and family pensioners retired before January 1, 2026.”
The REWA also urged the Prime Minister that until a formal amendment is issued, the government should provide clarification or issue a press release to remove confusion prevailing among pensioners. This will provide justice and peace of mind to lakhs of senior citizens.
8th Pay Commission status
The 8th Pay Commission is currently holding regional consultation and analysing data. It has not yet taken a final decision on the fitment factor or the new salary structures. The Commission has 18 months to complete its work from the date it was set up. Although its recommendations are expected to take retrospective effect from January 1, 2026, the actual implementation may take until late 2027.
