People's Democracy

Halt The New  Pension Scheme

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued the following statement on September 20, 2008

THE finance minister�s recent statements in the aftermath of the financial crisis in the US, reiterating the government�s commitment to carry forward financial sector reforms show a stubborn refusal to learn proper lessons. His assertion regarding the ability of India�s financial regulators �to keep regulations one step ahead of innovation� does not carry any conviction.

The UPA government should abandon forthwith all moves to put the pension funds of government employees into the stock market. The government has refused to assure a minimum guaranteed pension for the government employees under the New Pension Scheme. The pension funds of the employees must not be left to the mercy of the speculative forces, which have played havoc in stock markets across the world. The government will be held squarely responsible for any erosion of the hard earned savings of the employees owing to a stock market meltdown.

The CPI(M) demands that the interim step announced in January 2007, allowing upto 5 per cent of pension funds under the New Pension Scheme to be invested in the stock market, be immediately rescinded. The CPI(M) also demands that the PFRDA Bill, which enables investment of employees� pension funds into the stock market, be discarded and the Pension Scheme for government employees reworked to ensure minimum guaranteed pension.