1. Introduction:
The Government has extended facility to
Government servants to take retirement from service voluntarily with full
pensionary benefits before attaining the age of superannuation.
2. Employee has Right
to take Retirement:
1. The Administrative Reforms Commission had
recommended in its report on Personnel Administration, as follows
“59(1): A Civil servant may be allowed to
retire voluntarily if he has completed 15 years of service and given
proportionate pension and gratuity.”
2. The above recommendation of the
Administrative Reform Commission was considered by Government and it has been
decided that Government servants may be allowed to retire voluntarily after 20
years of qualifying service on proportionate pension and gratuity with a
weightage of up to 5 years towards qualifying service where applicable, subject
to certain condition.
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Entry in Service
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Age of Voluntary Retirement
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Group A and Group B officers who had entered
service before attaining the age of 35 Years
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After attaining the age of 50 years
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Group A and Group B officers other than
above and All Group C employees
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After attaining the age of 55 years
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All employees
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On completion of 30 years of qualifying
Service
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Scientist or technical experts who is –
(i) On assignment under the Indian Technical
and Economic Co-operation (ITEC) programme of Ministry of External Affairs
and other aid programmes
(ii) Posted abroad in foreign based office
of a ministry /Department
(iii) Specific contract assignment to a
foreign government
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After having been transferred to India
resumed the charge of the post in India and served for a period of not less
than one Year with fulfilling other conditions.
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The following instructions will regulate the
voluntary retirement of Central Government Servants pursuance of the Government
decision
(i) Government servants who have put in not
less than 20 years qualifying service may, by giving notice of three months in
writing to the appointing authority, retire from service voluntarily. The
scheme is purely voluntary the initiative resting with the Government servant
himself. The Government does not have the reciprocal right to retire Government
servant on its own, and or this scheme.
(ii) The benefit of retiring pension will be
admissible to Government servant retiring under this scheme.
(iii) A notice of less than three months may
also be accepted by the appointing authority in deserving cases, with the
concurrence of the Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure).
(iv) If a Government servant retires under the
Scheme of voluntary retirement while he is on leave not due, without returning
to duty, the retirement shall take effect from the date of commencement of the
leave not due and the leave salary paid in respect of such leave not due shall
be recovered as provided in Rule 31 of the CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972.
(v) Before a Government servant gives notice
of voluntary retirement with reference to these instructions, he should satisfy
himself by means of reference to the appropriate administrative authority that
he has, in fact, completed 20 years’ service qualifying for pension.
Note: Appropriate authority means the authority which has the
power to make substantive appointments to the post or service from which the
Government servants is required or wants to retire.
(vi) A notice of voluntary retirement may be
withdrawn subsequently only with the approval of the appointing authority
provided the request for such withdrawal is made before the expiry of the
notice.
(vii) A notice of voluntary retirement given
after completion of 20 years’ qualifying service will required acceptance by
the appointing authority if the date of retirement on the expiry of the notice
would be earlier than the date on which the Government servant concerned could
have retired voluntarily under the existing rules applicable to him. ( e.g. FR
56(k), Rule 48 of the Pension Rules, Article 459(1) of SSRs or any other
similar rules) such acceptance may be generally given in all cases except those
(a) in which disciplinary proceedings are pending or contemplated against the
Government servant concerned for the imposition of a major penalty and the
disciplinary authority, having regard to the circumstances of the case, is of
the view that the imposition of the penalty or removal or dismissal from
service would be warranted in the case for (b) in which persecutions is contemplated
or may have been launched in a Court of Law against the Government servant
concerned. If it is proposed to accept the notice of voluntary retirement even
in such cases, approval of the Minister-in¬charge should be obtained in regard
to Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ Government servants and that of the Head of the
Department in the cases of Group ‘C’ and Group ‘D’ Government servants. Even
where the notice of voluntary retirement given by a Government servant requires
acceptance by the appointing authority, the Government servant giving notice
may presume acceptance and the retirement shall be effective in terms of the
notice unless the competent authority issues an order to the contrary before
the expiry of the period of notice.
(viii) While granting proportionate pension to
a Government servant retiring voluntarily under this scheme, weightage of upto
five years would be given as an addition to the qualifying service actually
rendered by him. The grant, of weightage of upto five years will, however,
subject to the following conditions:
a) The total qualifying service after allowing
the weightage should not, in any event exceed 30 years’ qualifying service and
b) The total qualifying service after giving
the weightage should not exceed the qualifying service which he would have had,
if he had retired voluntarily at the lowest age/ minimum service limit
applicable to him for voluntary retirement prescribed under FR 56(k) or article
459 (1) of the CSRs or Rule 48 of the CCS (Pension) Rules or any other similar
rule applicable to him.
ILLUSTRATIONS:
(a) If a Government servants who could be
prematurely retired under FR 560)(1) or could have voluntarily retired under FR
56(k) seeks voluntary retirement under this scheme after he has attained the
age of 47 years and has rendered 22 years of service, the weightage in pension
would be limited only upto three years.
(b) If a Government servants who could be
prematurely retired under FR 56 G) (ii) or could have voluntarily retired under
FR 56 (k) seeks voluntary retirement under this scheme after he has attained
the age of 51 years and has rendered 24 years of service, the weightage in
pension would be admissible upto four years.
(c) If a Government servants belonging to
Group ‘C’ who could have voluntary retired under Rule 48 of the CCS (Pension)
Rules, 1972 seeks voluntary retirement under this scheme after he has rendered
28 years of service and has attained the age of 48 years, the weightage in
pension would be admissible upto five years.
(ix) The weightage given under this scheme
will be only an addition to the qualifying service for purpose of pension and
gratuity. It will not entitle of pension the Government servants retiring
voluntarily to any additional fixation of pay for purposes of calculating the
pension and gratuity which will be based on the actual emoluments calculated
with reference to the date of retirement.
(x) The amount of pension to be granted after
giving the weightage will be a subject to the provisions of Rule 6 of the CCS
(Pension) Rules, 1972. The pension will also be subject to the provisions of
Rules 8 and 9 of these Rules.
(xi) The scheme of voluntary retirement under
these orders will not apply to those who retire voluntarily under the
provisions of Rule 29 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972.
(xii) The scheme of voluntary retirement under
these orders will also not apply to those Government servants on deputation to
autonomous bodies/ public undertakings etc. The absorption of Government
servants on deputation to public undertakings/ autonomous bodies etc. in such
autonomous bodies/ public undertakings etc. and the grant of retirement
benefits to them in respect of their service under government will continue to
be governed by the separate set of instructions issued by the Ministry of
Finance in this regard.
(xiii) A Government servants giving notice of
voluntary retirement may also apply, before the expiry of the notice, for the
leave standing to his credit which may be granted to him to run concurrently
with the period of notice. The period of leave, if any, extending beyond the
date of retirement on expiry of notice but not extending beyond the date on
which the Government servants should have retired on attaining the age of
superannuation may be allowed as terminal leave as per Rule 39*6) of the CCS
(Leave) Rules, 1972 .the leave salary for such terminal leave shall be payable
in accordance with the provisions of the para 5 of Ministry of Finance
(Department of Expenditure) O.M. No. 16(1)E-IV(A)/76 dated the 23.12.1976.
(xiv) Group ‘A’ Government servants retiring
voluntarily under this scheme would continue to be subject to the provisions in
the Pension Rules relating to post retirement commercial employment. However,
in their cases, permission for the post retirement commercial employment will be
granted more liberally than in the case of other Govt. servants retiring under
the provisions of FR 56 or Rule 48 of the Pension Rules.
[DP&AR OM No. 25013/7/77 Estt.-(A), dated
26-08-1977]
3. Special Provisions
to Accept Notice for VRS under FR 56(k) or 56 (m)
The provisions of Fundamental Rule 56(k),
56(m) and Rule 48 of CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 relating to acceptance of
request of voluntary retirement have been revisited as per the Central
Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench judgement dated 4th August, 2010 in
O.A. No.1600/2009 filed by Shri Gopal Singh Purohit v / s UOI & Others to
bring them at par with each other.
The matter has ‘been examined in consultation
with Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare and the Ministry of Law. FR
56(k) and 56 (m) have been amended vide Extra Ordinary Gazette Notification No.
GSR 27(E), dated 17 January 2014. It shall be open to the appropriate authority
to withhold permission to a Government servant who seeks to retire under FR
56(k) or 56 (m) in the following circumstances:
(i) If the Government servant is under
suspension ; or
(ii) If a charge sheet has been issued and the
disciplinary proceedings are pending; or
(iii) If judicial proceedings on charges which
may amount to grave misconduct, are pending.
Explanation: For the purpose of this clause,
judicial proceedings shall be deemed to be pending, if a complaint or report of
a police officer, of which the Magistrate takes cognizance, has been made or
filed in a criminal proceedings.
[DOPT OM No. No.25013/3/2010-Estt (A), dated
27-02-2014]
4. Request for
Voluntary retirement from persons suffering from disability
The undersigned is directed say that vide
Department of Personnel and Training’s OM No.18017 /1/2014-Estt.(L), dated 25
February 2015 certain clarifications regarding treatment of leave and absence
of disabled Government servants have been issued.
Instances have come to notice where Government
servants apply for voluntary retirement under various provisions like Rules 38,
Rule 48 and 48A of CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 or Rule 56 of the Fundamental Rule
on account of hardships faced by them due to a disability, as they are unaware
of the protection provided by the Section 47 of the Persons with Disabilities
(Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995
(PWD Act). Section 47 of the PWD Act, 1995 is reproduced below for reference:
“Non-discrimination in Government
Employment-(1) No establishment shall dispense with, or reduce in rank, an
employee who acquires a disability during his service.
Provided that, if an employee, after acquiring
disability is not suitable for the post he was holding, could be shifted to
some other post with the same pay scale and service benefits; provided further
that if it is not possible to adjust the employee against any post, he may be
kept on a supernumerary post until a suitable post is available or he attains
the age of superannuation, whichever is earlier.
No promotion shall be denied to a person
merely on the ground of his disability; provided that the appropriate
Government may, having regard to the type of work carried on in any
establishment, by notification and subject to such conditions, if any, as may
be specified in such notification, exempt any establishment from the provisions
of this section.
The issue had come up in Bhagwan Dass &
Anr v / s Punjab State Electricity Board (2008) 1 SCC 579, decided by the
Hon’ble Supreme Court where the employee who had during his service suffered
from blindness, had applied for voluntary retirement. The Hon’ble Supreme court
has observed that the Petitioner was not aware of any protection that the law
afforded him and apparently believed that the blindness would cause him to lose
his job, which was the source of livelihood of his family. In those
circumstances, it was the duty of the superior officers to explain to him the
correct legal position and to tell him about his legal rights.
Keeping in view the provisions of the Section
47 of the PWD Act, 1995 and the above mentioned judgement, it has been decided
that whenever a Government servant seeks voluntary retirement citing medical
grounds, or when the said notice has been submitted due to a disability, the
administrative authorities shall examine as to whether the case is covered
under Section 47 of PWD Act, 1995. In case the provisions are applicable, the
Government servant shall be advised that he/ she has the option of continuing
in service with the same pay scale and service benefits.
In case a disabled Government servant
reconsiders his decision and withdraws the notice for voluntary retirement, his
case shall be dealt with under the provisions of the Section 47 read with the
DOPT OM dated 25 February 2015 mentioned above. If however, in spite of being
so advised, such Government servant still wishes to take voluntary retirement,
the request may be processed as per the applicable rule.
[DOPT OM No.25012/1/2015-Estt (A-IV), dated
19-05-2015]
5. Special Voluntary
Retirement Scheme for Surplus Central Government Employees
The Expenditure Reforms Commission (ERC) set
up by the Government of India has suggested a liberal voluntary Retirement
Scheme (VRS) for the employees’ declared surplus. This recommendation,
contained in Commission’s second Report on ‘ Optimising Government’s Staff
Strength – Some General issues’ has been considered carefully and the Central
Government have decided to introduce a special Voluntary Retirement Scheme
(VRS) as per details given herein under for the permanent employees declared
surplus in any Ministry /Department as a consequence of one or more of the
following:-
(i) Implementation of decisions of the Cabinet
regarding restructuring of Ministries /Departments;
(ii) Implementation of the recommendations of
the Expenditure Reforms Commission;
(iii) Implementation of the decision of a
Ministry /Department relating to downsizing/ rightsizing including, Inter alia,
restructuring of an organization, transfer of an activity to a State
Government, Public Sector undertaking or other Autonomous Organisation,
discontinuation of an ongoing activity and introduction of changes in
technology; or
(iv) Implementation of work study reports
undertaken by the Staff Inspection Unit of the Ministry of Finance or any other
body set up by the Central Government or the Ministry /Department concerned.
2. The features of the Special VRS for the
employees declared surplus are as under:-
(a) All permanent employees rendered surplus
irrespective of their age and qualifying service can opt for the scheme.
(b) An optee of Special VRS will be entitled
to receive an ex-gratia’ amount equal to basic pay plus dearness allowance for
the number of days worked out on the basis of length of service @ 35 days for
each completed year and 25 days for each remaining year. For any part of a
year, the number of days, for ex-gratia amount, will be worked out on the basis
of 365 days in a year. The ex -gratia amount will be further subject to the
following conditions:
i. total number of years to be counted for
payment of ex-gratia will not exceed 33 years;
ii. No weightage of additional service will be
given for the purpose of calculation of ex-gratia;
iii. The ex-gratia will be subject to a
minimum of Rs.25000 or 250 days emoluments, whichever is higher;
iv. The ex-gratia amount should not exceed the
sum of the basic pay plus DA that the employee would draw at the prevailing
level for the balance of the period of service left before superannuation.
v. The ex-gratia amount will be paid in
lump-sum;
vi. The ex-gratia amount upto Rs 5.00 lakhs
will be exempted from Income Tax;
(c) A weightage of five years to the
qualifying service shall be given under CCS (Pension-) Rules, 1972 to such
permanent surplus employees who have rendered a minimum of 15 years of
qualifying service on the date they are declared surplus. However, as provided
in rule 29 of CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, the qualifying length of service after
taking into account the aforesaid weightage should not be more than the service
he would have rendered had he retired on the date of his superannuation.
(d) Encashment of Earned Leave accumulated in
the date of relief as per CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972;
(e) Payment of savings element with interest
in the Central Government Employees Group insurance Scheme as per rules;
(f) TA/DA as on retirement for self and family
for settling down anywhere in India as per Travelling Allowance Rules;
(g) Group A officials opting for the special
VRS will be exempted from the operation of rule 10 of the CCS (pension) Rules
which stipulates previous sanction of the Government for accepting commercial
employment.
3. Payment of ex-gratia to the employees
declared surplus and opting for the special VRS within the specified three
months period will be over and above the normal retirement entitlements under
CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972.
4. The order of voluntary retirement in each
case should clearly stipulate that the surplus post held by the retiring
incumbent will stand abolished from the date of his/her voluntary retirement.
5. The Identification of surplus employees for
the purpose of VRS would be guided
by procedure given in item 3 of Annexure-1 under the heading “Steps for Identification of Surplus staff” to the revised scheme of the disposal of personnel rendered, surplus due to reduction of establishment of Central Government Department/Offices notified vide Circular No 1/18/88-CS-III of DOPT dated 1 April 1989.
by procedure given in item 3 of Annexure-1 under the heading “Steps for Identification of Surplus staff” to the revised scheme of the disposal of personnel rendered, surplus due to reduction of establishment of Central Government Department/Offices notified vide Circular No 1/18/88-CS-III of DOPT dated 1 April 1989.
6. The permanent employees declared surplus
will have to exercise option for special VRS within three months from the date
he or she has been declared surplus in any Ministry /Department. Surplus
employees presently on the Rolls of the Surplus Cell (Re-designated as the
division of Retraining and Redeployment ) of the Department of Personnel &
Training as on the date of this OM can also opt for special VRS within three
months from this date.
7. In order to facilitate the maintenance of a
close watch on the implementation of the scheme, all Ministries/Departments are
required to submit quarterly returns to the Surplus Cell of Department of
Personnel & Training that may be prescribed by that Cell.
8. Ministry of Finance, etc. are requested to
give wide publicity to the contents of this O.M. to the employees declared
surplus.
[DOPT OM No. 25013/6/2001-Estt.(A), dated
28-02-2002]
