Bank pensioners are calling for the implementation of an updated pension scheme.

Members of the Association of Retired IOB Employees (ARISE) gathered on Sunday for a meeting organized by Kondaviti Venkateswara Rao, the assistant general secretary for the Vijayawada region. During the meeting, Rao highlighted the importance and benefits of renewing the IBA Group Medical Insurance Scheme for bank retirees, covering the period from November 1, 2024, to October 31, 2025.

He announced that National Insurance Ltd would offer a base policy with a sum insured of Rs 3 lakh for award staff retirees and Rs 4 lakh for officer staff retirees, with affordable premiums of Rs 28,545 and Rs 40,900, respectively, inclusive of GST for retirees and their spouses without domiciliary coverage. “A circular from Indian Overseas Bank regarding the submission of options for health insurance renewal will be issued soon,” he added.

The chief guest, KBG Tilak, National Deputy General Secretary of the All India Bank Pensioners’ and Retirees’ Confederation (AIBPARC), noted that pensions were introduced in banks in 1993, retroactively covering those who retired on or after January 1, 1986. However, pensions have not been updated in the past three decades. He emphasized that the Pension Fund of Public Sector Banks has exceeded Rs 4 lakh crore, generating substantial annual returns, which could sufficiently address the ongoing demands of bank pensioners, including those from SBI, retroactive to March 1, 2019.

Tilak also mentioned that employees and officers who joined after April 1, 2010, fall under the New Pension Scheme (NPS). Joint convenors of the Confederation of Bank Pensioners and Retirees Organisations (CBPRO), KV Acharya and Dipak Kumar Basu, are organizing a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on October 23, 2024, to address key demands.

He expressed gratitude to Indian Overseas Bank staff pensioners in Andhra Pradesh for their generous contributions to assist flood victims, announcing that a Demand Draft of Rs 2.85 lakh for the AP Chief Minister’s Relief Fund would be delivered soon. The meeting also honored six IOB pensioners aged 70 and above with shawls. Approximately 40 ARISE members from Vijayawada, Guntur, Tenali, and Eluru attended the event, with retired Chief Manager B. Radhakrishna Murthy proposing the vote of thanks.