Tamil Nadu government estimates that implementing TAPS will require an additional one-time contribution of ₹13,000 crore to the pension fund.
Published Jan 03, 2026 | 7:59 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 03, 2026 | 8:53 PM
Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin. Credit: x.com/mkstalin
Synopsis: Tamil Nadu government announced the Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme (TAPS), offering state employees and teachers an assured pension of 50% of last drawn salary, DA hikes, family pension, and gratuity. Despite fiscal pressures, CM MK Stalin committed to funding the scheme. Welcoming the move, unions withdrew planned protests, ending a two-decade demand for guaranteed retirement benefits.
The Tamil Nadu government on Friday, 2 January announced a new pension framework—the Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme (TAPS)—that promises assured retirement benefits to state government employees and teachers, seeking to address a long-pending demand for restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
Chief Minister MK Stalin approved the scheme, describing it as a balanced solution that safeguards the future of employees while taking into account the state’s financial realities. The scheme will provide an assured pension equivalent to 50 percent of the last drawn salary, along with periodic dearness allowance (DA) hikes, family pension, and gratuity benefits.
For nearly two decades, government employees and teachers’ unions have raised concerns that those retiring under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) face uncertainty about their post-retirement income. The lack of a guaranteed pension, they argued, left employees unsure of their financial security after retirement.
Acknowledging these concerns, the Tamil Nadu government had earlier constituted a committee under Additional Chief Secretary K Gagandeep Singh Bedi, IAS, to study the issue and suggest a viable alternative. Based on the committee’s recommendations and subsequent consultations with senior officials, including the Finance Minister and the Chief Secretary, the government decided to roll out TAPS.
Under the new scheme:
Employees will contribute 10 percent of their salary towards the pension fund, while the state government will bear the remaining financial burden required to ensure the assured pension.
The Tamil Nadu government estimates that implementing TAPS will require an additional one-time contribution of ₹13,000 crore to the pension fund. Beyond this, the state will have to provide around ₹11,000 crore annually as its share, a figure expected to rise in line with salary revisions.
Despite fiscal pressures—arising from reduced central tax devolution, GST-related revenue constraints, and increasing welfare expenditure—the government has committed to fully funding the scheme.
JACTO-GEO withdraws statewide protest after TAPS announcement
Following the announcement of the Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme (TAPS), representatives of government employees’ unions met Chief Minister MK Stalin and celebrated the decision by offering sweets.
Welcoming the move, JACTO-GEO state organiser Venkatesan said the organisation wholeheartedly accepted the scheme and expressed gratitude to the CM and the state government.
He said the announcement had put an end to a situation in which government employees had been without assured pension benefits for over 20 years.
Venkatesan added that the union was hopeful the CM would also consider and accept their other pending demands. “In view of this development, we are withdrawing the statewide protest that we had announced from January 6,” he said.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
