16,000 retirees between March 2024 are waiting for their lifetime savings

■   25 retired employees — including Kondaiah of Mahabubnagar — have died in the last 20 months without receiving a single rupee of the retirement savings they earned over 30–40 years of service.

■   Over 16,000 retirees who left service after March 2024 are still waiting for their dues, even though each is entitled to ₹30–70 lakh that should normally be released within 1–30 days of retirement.

■   Despite the govt needing just ₹750 crore to clear all pending arrears, pensioners are being forced into debt, delaying family commitments and even medical treatment — with some dying before turning 62.

■   JAC leaders highlight the painful irony: while legislators receive salaries and pensions on time, retired employees survive on just 30–40% of their last drawn salary with their lifetime savings locked up.

MAHESH AVADHUTHA I hyderabad

The untimely death of Kondaiah a retired government teacher from Mahabubnagar in October whose appeals to release funds is still fresh in the minds of people. He was battling from a lung infection and if the Telangana Government had released funds, he could well have been alive say his family members.

According to the Telangana Government Pensioners JAC, a body representing 36 pensioners’ associations and over three lakh government pensioners, at least 25 retirees have died during this waiting period — without receiving a rupee of their rightful dues. These retirees, who left service at the age of 61 after March 2024, died before even turning 62.

It has been an agonising wait for more than 16,000 state government employees who retired between March 2024 and today. Typically, each retiree, based on their government cadre, is entitled to receive ₹30 lakh to ₹70 lakh — their lifetime savings accumulated through GPF, General Insurance Scheme, Telangana Government Life Insurance Scheme and other savings and incentives— within 1 to 30 days after superannuation.

But for nearly 20 months, these payments have not been released. The State government, citing a precarious financial situation, has been unable to clear the dues of retired employees, effectively withholding the savings they contributed over 30 to 40 years of service.

Many retirees had planned significant family events — their children’s weddings, higher education of their children or abroad studies etc — based on the expectation of receiving their retirement benefits. Despite repeated appeals to the government highlighting their urgent financial needs and obligations, their requests have gone unanswered.

JAC leaders point out that the stress of not being able to meet financial commitments, which would have been manageable had they received their lump-sum benefits, has been a major contributing factor. In one tragic case, a retired government teacher, hospitalised recently, wrote an emotional appeal to the government requesting release of his retirement savings to meet his medical expenses. He passed away soon after, without seeing the money he had earned over decades of service.

Rs 750 Crore needed to clear pending arrears The JAC estimates that the government requires approximately ₹750 crore to settle the pending retirement benefits of those who superannuated in the last 20 months.

Each month, around 1,000 employees — including teachers — retire and are added to this growing backlog. Once retired, these individuals receive a pension that amounts to only 30% to 40% of their last drawn salary. JAC leaders argue that the government actually saves money on these new pensioners, as their monthly pension is significantly lower than their original salaries.

 “At least keeping this factor in mind, the government should not keep newly retired employees waiting,” they said. Pensioners JAC leaders stress that Telangana is the only state where retired employees are facing such an unprecedented delay. “We have never experienced a situation like this in the past,” they contend.

How Retirement-Age hike deferred this crisis earlier In March 2021, the then BRS government increased the retirement age of state employees from 58 to 61 years. This move, coming in the wake of the Covid-19 financial crunch, effectively postponed thousands of retirements and relieved the government of the immediate burden of releasing large lump-sum payments.

 As a result, there were zero retirements between 2021 and 2024 during the BRS tenure.The Congress government, which came to power in December 2023, saw the first batch of retirements only from March 2024 onwards, just six months after assuming office — and inherited the financial responsibility of clearing all pending dues.

‘Why are legislators paid on time but not us?’ Pensioners JAC leaders point out a glaring disparity: “When public representatives receive their salaries and pensions and benefits promptly, why can’t the same rule apply to state government employees who served for 30 to 40 years?” For thousands of retired employees, this question remains painfully unanswered as they continue their long, uncertain wait for what is rightfully theirs.