Center requires all ministries 4-year pre-retirement pay and pension checks
Heads up if you're in the government workforce: The Center just announced that all ministries need to double-check employees' pay and pension records four years before they retire.
This move is meant to catch errors early, especially after a large number of proposals received by the department seeking waivers from the recovery of excess payments made to government employees due to incorrect pay fixation, increments, and benefits under the Assured Career Progression (ACP) and Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) schemes.
Pay and Accounts offices held responsible
With 3.65 million civilian central government employees and a similar number of pensioners, even small mistakes can add up fast: FY25 pensions and other retirement benefits cost the country ₹3.46 trillion (nearly half went to defense).
Now, ministries have to set up systems to monitor these checks and fix any issues right away.
The concerned Pay and Accounts Office and/or the Chief Controller or Controller of Accounts will also be held responsible if errors or excess payments are found after the pay fixation orders have been certified, so everyone's being pushed toward better accuracy and accountability.