Jammu, Mar 6: The J&K pension bill is projected to nearly double between 2020 and 2030, with the government paying retirement benefits to about 2.48 lakh former employees, according to official figures.
Authorities have also clarified that there is currently no plan to bring back the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). Officials maintained that restoring the scheme would put heavy pressure on public finances and threaten long-term fiscal stability.
Government data shows that pension expenditure stood at Rs 5,829 crore in 2020-21 and is expected to climb to Rs 11,798 crore by 2030-31, indicating a sharp rise in the Union Territory’s retirement liabilities.
Over the past five years, the outgo has steadily increased. The pension bill rose to Rs 6,668 crore in 2021-22, Rs 7,463 crore in 2022-23, Rs 8,364 crore in 2023-24, and Rs 9,350 crore in 2024-25, while the estimated spending for 2025-26 stands at Rs 9,127 crore.
Officials said the growing number of retiring employees will continue to push the expenditure higher in the coming years. However, the pressure is expected to gradually stabilise around the early 2040s when most beneficiaries under the older system would have retired.
The administration highlighted that the New Pension Scheme (NPS), introduced in 2010, offers a more sustainable framework because it is based on a defined contribution model supported by a dedicated fund, unlike the earlier scheme.
Jammu and Kashmir’s fiscal structure, characterised by relatively lower revenue generation and heavy dependence on expenditure, has historically seen pension liabilities rise faster than other spending heads, officials noted.
Past trends show a similar pattern, with pension spending increasing from Rs 731 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 1,495 crore in 2009-10.
Following a cabinet decision in 2009, the government replaced the defined benefit system with the NPS for employees appointed on or after January 1, 2010, through amendments to the J&K Civil Service Regulations.
Officials added that while the government continues to honour commitments to retirees under the older system, efforts are being made to ensure that pension payments do not hamper development spending. Once the expenditure stabilises in the coming decades, a larger share of resources is expected to be directed towards infrastructure and other growth oriented sectors.