Thousands of retired Telangana government employees are yet to receive their retirement benefits, leaving them in financial distress. Many have been waiting for months, despite completing all formalities before retirement.
A senior lecturer from a government polytechnic college in Siddipet retired in August last year. He expected to receive around Rs 1 crore in retirement benefits within days. Seven months later, he has not received a single rupee. Another retired section superintendent from a government hospital in Hyderabad has been waiting for Rs 50 lakh since November. Both have been running from office to office, seeking their rightful payments.
Under Telangana’s service rules, retired employees are entitled to gratuity, leave encashment, and commuted pension. The government must also return General Provident Fund savings, life insurance contributions, and group insurance payments. However, many retirees are only receiving their monthly pensions, while their other dues remain unpaid.
The Telangana government is struggling to clear these payments due to a severe financial crunch. The chief minister admitted that paying retirement benefits has become a major challenge. Every month, 800 to 1,000 employees retire, adding Rs 100 crore to the pending dues. Since April 2024, nearly 10,000 employees have retired, and the government owes them approximately Rs 8,000 crore.
Between April and December 2024, nearly 8,000 employees retired, including over 1,400 gazetted officers and more than 5,000 non-gazetted staff. The numbers will rise to around 10,000 by March 2025, with another 9,600 set to retire in 2026. The total pending amount, including interest, is estimated at Rs 8,200 crore.
The crisis began in 2021 when the previous government raised the retirement age from 58 to 61. This move delayed retirements and temporarily eased financial pressure. However, now that these employees are retiring, the backlog of payments has become too much to handle.
Employee associations are urging the government to allocate funds in the budget and clear dues in phases. Retired workers, many of whom depend on these payments to repay loans and secure their futures, continue to wait for relief.
