J&K pension bill set to double by 2030: Officials

The pension bill of the Jammu and Kashmir Government is set to double during the decade between 2020 and 2030, with around 2.48 lakh retired employees receiving allowances, officials said.

The administration also clarified that there is no proposal under consideration to revive the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), asserting that it would be fiscally unsustainable in the long run and could pose significant risks to financial stability.

According to official data, Rs 5,829 crore was paid as pension to retired employees in 2020-21 and the figure is projected to rise to Rs 11,798 crore in 2030-31. The figures were shared in a government reply to a cut motion in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly recently.

The year-wise pension outgo over the past five years has shown a steady increase — Rs 6,668 crore in 2021-22, Rs 7,463 crore in 2022-23, Rs 8,364 crore in 2023-24, Rs 9,350 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 9,127 crore in 2025-26.

Based on the number of employees retiring, the pension outgo is expected to rise further in the coming years and is estimated to reach Rs 11,798 crore in 2030-31.

Officials said the expansion in pension commitments may continue until the early 2040s, after which the burden is expected to stabilise as employees covered under OPS substantially retire.

They said the introduction of the New Pension Scheme (NPS) in 2010 provides a sustainable pension framework with effective fund management, unlike OPS which does not have a dedicated pension fund.

Officials added that Jammu and Kashmir, being an expenditure-driven region with modest revenue receipts and limited avenues for investment, has witnessed disproportionate growth in pension liabilities in the past.

Earlier, pension expenditure had nearly doubled from Rs 731 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 1,495 crore in 2009-10, they said.

Once the pension outgo stabilises around 2040, proportionately more funds are expected to be available for the development sector, they added.