Military proposes pension cut, increase in retirement age in armed forces, sparks criticism on social media

New Delhi: A wave of indignation spread in the military circles after a letter from Department of Military Affairs (DMA) proposing a drastic cut in pension for officers seeking premature retirement from service and increase in retirement age, started doing the rounds on social media.

The letter is signed by the Deputy Defence Advisor to Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, who heads the DMA in his capacity as Secretary.

When contacted, a senior officer in Army Headquarters confirmed the authenticity of the letter to The Indian Express.

Immediately after the contents of the letter were shared on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Whatsapp there were adverse comments on the move to cut pension and memes of General Rawat lampooning him for the move started circulating all over.

An advocate dealing with military affairs contended that the move will be challenged in court as terms of engagement and entitlements could not be changed summarily by DMA.

The letter dated October 29 states that a draft Government Sanction Letter (GSL) be processed for the two proposals of pension cuts and increase in retirement age for the persusal of General Rawat by November 10.

The proposals indicate that the pension for officers seeking premature retirement will be cut between 50 per cent to 75 per cent, with only those officers who complete their service till age of retirement receiving the full pension.

As per the proposal, those officers who seek retirement between 20 to 25 years of service will only get 50 per cent of their entitled pension and those who retire between 26-30 years of age will get only 60 per cent of their pension.