Great news for Defense Forces pensions! The Central Government has revised rank-wise pensions under the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for retirees from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and other defense units and family pensioners.
This revision will be effective from July 1, 2024. The ‘OROP Revision’ has been approved. The Government of India has significantly revised the pension amounts of Army, Navy, and Air Force officers under the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme.
This decision will benefit retired soldiers and their families. Those who have served in the same rank will receive equal pension benefits regardless of their retirement date.
According to the Ministry of Defence, the pensions will be revised for all retired, discharged, ineligible from service, deceased in service, or commissioned officers after retirement, all defense pensioners holding honorary commission status, and their family pensioners.
Officers, JCOs/ORs of Army, Navy, Air Force, Defense Security Corps, Territorial Army, and Ex-State Forces, non-combatants are drawing pension and family pension as of July 1, 2024.
Ineligible individuals for these incentives include UK/HKSRA/KCIO Pensioners, Pakistan and Burma Army Pensioners, Reservist Pensioners, Ex-gratia Pensioners, and Pre-Mature Retirement, Own Request Pensioners who retired on or after July 1, 2014.
As per the revised pension rates, the rank, group, and 2023 live data qualifying service of retirees will consider the average minimum and maximum pension rates.
Wherever rank and qualifying service rates are lower than lower qualifying service rates of the same rank, or if there is no data for a higher eligible service, the same lower eligible service will be at a higher rate.
This causes multiple rates in the same column to appear equal. Similarly, suppose the rate of pension revised in this order is lower in the higher rank than in the lower rank in the same qualifying service. In that case, those with a lower rank in the same qualifying service will have higher pension rates.
The OROP scheme aims to address long-standing disparities in pension amounts for Defense force retirees, especially those who retired before the scheme’s implementation in 2015.
The recent amendment will benefit 25.13 lakh pensioners, including more than 4.52 lakh new beneficiaries. This pension hike will be effective from July 2019. The government is committed to ensuring that future increases in pension rates are automatically passed on to past pensioners.
What is the One Rank, One Pension Scheme? It ensures that armed forces personnel of the same rank who retire with the same length of service get the same pension irrespective of their date of retirement.
This means that an officer who retired in 2000 will receive the same pension as one who retired in 2010 if they have served the same number of years and hold the same rank.
This scheme was introduced to eliminate disparities arising from changes in pay scales and pension calculations over time.
Benefits of One Rank One Pension: The OROP scheme provides several benefits to Defense Force Retirees.
Equal Pension: It ensures the exact pension amounts for those who have served in the same rank and service.
Automatic Revisions: Pensions are revised every five years to keep up with inflation and changes in pay scales.
Payment of Dues: Veterans will receive Rs. 19,316 crores from July 2019 to December 2021 as dues.
Support to families: Family pensioners, including widows of ex-servicemen, will also benefit from these amendments.
How do you apply for a One Rank One Pension? Veterans can apply for OROP benefits through the Ex-Servicemen Welfare Department of the Ministry of Defence.
The application process usually involves submitting required documentation, including proof of service and pension details.
Eligibility Criteria for One Rank One Pension: To be eligible for the OROP scheme, individuals must:
- Be a retired Army, Navy, or Air Force personnel.
- Have served in the same rank and period of service as other beneficiaries.
- Should be a retired pensioner before the implementation of the OROP scheme.