Madurai: The Tamil Nadu government has issued an order granting interim relief to government employees retiring while regulations for the Guaranteed Pension Scheme (TABS) are being formulated.
After the old pension scheme was scrapped in 2003, the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) was introduced. In the final phase of the previous DMK government, TABS was announced, but detailed rules to implement it were not framed. With the new administration in place, officials and employees faced uncertainty over whether CPS or TABS would apply to those retiring from January 1, 2026.
Following a demand from a government officials’ union and a report published on May 25, the government issued G.O. No. 111 dated June 16, 2026, announcing interim pension arrangements until the final TABS regulations are notified.
Eligibility covers employees who joined service on or after April 1, 2003 and were under CPS, were in service as on January 1, 2026, and later retired on superannuation or died in service. For superannuation cases, a minimum of 10 years of service is required. The relief will not apply to those who took voluntary retirement, left service for reasons other than death, retired with disciplinary proceedings pending, or retired/left service before January 1, 2026.
The interim pension will be 30% of the last drawn basic pay or Rs 10,000 (whichever is higher), plus 60% dearness allowance on that amount; similar provisions apply to family pensioners. Retirees may opt out of TABS immediately and receive full settlement of employee and government CPS contributions with interest, which will be final and irreversible. Alternatively, they may draw interim pension now and decide after TABS rules are issued; if they later exit, the interim pension received (with interest) will be deducted from the CPS settlement. Those who retired from January 1, 2026 must submit Form 1 or 2 within 60 days of the order, and future retirees within 60 days of retirement; approval is to be issued within 15 days of receiving the form, with the treasury releasing the first instalment within a week of the payment order.
