IT is unfortunate that for the last many years finance ministry wizards have been following a simple formula to increase the pension of retirees by giving a flat increase to all from top to bottom.
Under this formula neither the effects of the cost of living nor the disparity of pension between old and new pensioners was taken into account. This implies that a person drawing a pension of Rs80,000 will get an increase of Rs8000 whereas an employee of the same grade/status who retired much earlier and drawing a pension of Rs30,000 will get an increase of Rs3,000, though the cost of living affects both.
This disparitycontinues toincrease every year which is extremely unjust. It is time the budget makers at federal and provinciallevelsrecognised this anomalous situation and devised a formula which benefited all and sundry equitably and fairly.
