SBI retirees up in arms against denial of second option of pension

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times  Chandigarh, September 09, 2014

 

As many as 300 retired personnel of the associate banks of the State Bank of India, who had opted for voluntary retirement under the exit option scheme during 2006-07, have gone up in arms after they were denied the second option of pension despite being eligible for the same.

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Addressing the media, one of the retirees Narender Kumar Sethi said despite clear instructions by the department of financial services, Government of India, Indian Banks' Association (IBA) had not implemented the same. On the contrary, retirees from other nationalised banks had already been given another option of pension.

Sethi said a letter in this regard had been recently written to the finance minister Arun Jaitley pointing out gross discrimination in the matter of offering second option to retired officers of associate banks by IBA as its instructions were contrary to the approval of the government which had extended the option.

   

It had been added that the finance ministry had concluded that the benefit be extended to all those who retired from the service of the banks in the prescribed period and not just those who retired on superannuation, advising IBA to withdraw the words 'on superannuation'.

 

Another retiree, Tara Chand said during implementation, the IBA unilaterally included the term 'on superannuation' thereby denying the benefit of second option to all those from associate banks of SBI who had opted for voluntary retirement under the exit option