M.K. Stalin. File
| Photo Credit: M. Moorthy
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday (January 3, 2026) announced the new Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme (TAPS) for State government employees. Under the new arrangement, State government employees will be provided with an assured pension equal to 50% of their last-drawn basic pay.
The State government made the announcement after taking into consideration a report submitted recently to the Chief Minister by a three-member Pension Committee headed by Additional Chief Secretary (Rural Development and Panchayat Raj) Gagandeep Singh Bedi, which studied various pension schemes and arrived at a suitable model for Tamil Nadu.
Under TAPS, employees will have to contribute 10 % of their basic pay to the pension fund, while the additional fund requirement needed to provide the assured pension will be borne by the State government.
Pensioners will be given dearness allowance (DA) hikes twice a year on a par with serving government employees. In the event of the death of a pensioner, 60% of the pension that was being received by the pensioner will be paid as family pension to the nominated beneficiary.
At the time of retirement, or in the event of death during service, government employees will be provided with a gratuity not exceeding ₹25 lakh, based on the tenure of their service. After the implementation of TAPS, employees who retire without completing the qualifying service period required to receive a pension will be provided with a minimum pension.
Employees who joined service under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and retired without drawing pension in the intervening period before the implementation of TAPS will be granted a ‘special compassionate pension.’
With the introduction of TAPS, the Tamil Nadu government will have to incur an additional expenditure of ₹13,000 crore for the pension fund. In addition, the State will have to contribute approximately ₹11,000 crore every year as its annual contribution, an amount that is likely to increase based on the salary of employees.
Before making the announcement, Mr. Stalin held discussions with the Minister for Public Works E.V. Velu, Minister for Finance Thangam Thennarasu, Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Chief Secretary N. Muruganandam, and Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) T. Udhayachandran at the Secretariat.
Later, in a post on X, Mr. Stalin said, “The Dravidian model government has fulfilled a 20-year-long demand of the government employees through TAPS. It has once again been demonstrated that the DMK government will always remain true to the people who placed their trust in us.”
“TAPS is the New Year and Pongal gift for government employees. The good governance of the Dravidian model will continue. As Tamil Nadu’s financial position strengthens, the demands of all sections of society will eventually be fulfilled,” he said.
Following the announcement, the Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Organisations and Government Employees’ Organisations (JACTTO-GEO) and various other organisations of government employees and teachers called on the Chief Minister and thanked him for announcing TAPS.
The indefinite strike announced by JACTTO-GEO from January 6 has been withdrawn following the announcement. The DMK, in the run-up to the 2021 Assembly elections, had promised to restore the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). Various associations of government employees had been demanding that the State government fulfil this promise.
According to the release, under the new arrangement, government employees will receive pension and monetary benefits equivalent to those under the OPS. The announcement of TAPS by the DMK government gains significance in the light of the State Assembly elections around the corner.
Published – January 03, 2026 01:45 pm IST