Government orders pre-retirement audit of pay and pension records to curb excess payments

The Department of Expenditure, reporting to the finance ministry, has issued a mandate for all central ministries and departments to conduct a comprehensive review of pay fixation orders, service records and pension information for employees who will retire in four years. This step is intended to prevent excess salary or pension payments from being discovered too late for recovery, after a wave of waiver proposals linked to the Assured Career Progression (ACP) and Modified ACP schemes.

Ministries must verify service, salary and pension details before forwarding pension papers and must certify that any pay orders issued after promotions, increments or upgrades are examined within three months or by the end of the financial year. Non-compliance will trigger accountability, with the Pay and Accounts Office or senior controllers liable for any errors. Experts such as Arun Kumar Jha and DP Majhi welcomed the move as a means to strengthen internal checks and improve financial discipline. The policy arrives as pension outlays rose 12.3% to ₹3.46 trillion in FY25, with defence and civil pensions accounting for the majority of the expense.