8th pay commission update: The government’s recent announcement of the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the 8th Central Pay Commission (8th CPC) has triggered sharp criticism from the All India Defence Employees Federation (AIDEF). In the recent update the union government has alleged that the ToR leaves out 6.9 million central government pensioners and family pensioners calling the decision “unfair and discriminatory.” Here are all the details you need to know about the recent decision of union government to dismiss the speculations over hike of retired government employees. According to a report by the Financial Express AIDEF has strongly opposed the government’s move arguing that excluding such a large number of pensioners from the commission’s scope goes against established practice and denies them a fair review of their benefits. Government dismisses speculations over hike of retired government employees However in response to the speculations the government has dismissed a viral social media message that claimed retired government employees would stop receiving dearness allowance (DA) hikes and future pay commission benefits under the Finance Act 2025. The claim is fake. Rule 37 of the CCS (Pension) Rules 2021 has been amended to state that if an absorbed PSU employee is dismissed for misconduct their retirement benefits will be forfeited the government said in a social media post on X platform. What does the recent amendment on CCS (Pension) Rules 2021 say? The recent amendment only related to a narrow group under the CCS (Pension) Rules 2021 where Rule 37(29C) was amended after consultation with the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare and the Ministry of Finance. As per a report by IANS the amendment applies to former government employees who were absorbed into a PSU whose retirement benefits will be forfeited only if the employee is later dismissed or removed from the PSU for misconduct. (With inputs from agencies)