Thousands of retired Air India and former Indian Airlines employees are awaiting relief as a crucial meeting with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is expected to address their long-pending pension concerns. Around 23,000 retirees claim they have been left without adequate post-retirement benefits following the national carrier’s privatisation in 2022.
According to retiree associations, many former employees continue to receive monthly annuity payments ranging between ₹1,200 and ₹2,500 despite contributing substantial amounts to the Air India Employees’ Self-Contributory Superannuation Pension Scheme (AIESCSPS), which was introduced in 1994.
The scheme, launched under the Contributory Provident Fund (CPF) framework, had promised a monthly pension equivalent to 40% of an employee’s last drawn salary. However, it was discontinued in 1997 after financial constraints. Only 1,852 employees who secured court orders continued to receive the originally promised pension, while the remaining retirees were shifted to fixed annuity payouts.
Many retired employees argue that the current pension is insufficient to meet rising living and healthcare expenses. They also claim that the employee-funded pension corpus, estimated at over ₹700 crore, remains inaccessible, with principal amounts payable only to nominees after the pensioner’s death under existing annuity rules.
The issue gained prominence after Air India’s privatisation. During the disinvestment process, pension liabilities were not transferred to the Tata Group. Instead, the government created AI Assets Holding Limited (AIAHL) to manage the airline’s non-core assets and liabilities. However, retirees allege that AIAHL has declined responsibility for the pension scheme, stating it was not officially transferred to the special purpose vehicle.
Apart from pension concerns, former employees have also raised issues related to post-retirement medical benefits. They claim that while they now receive cashless outpatient services under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), cashless inpatient hospitalisation benefits are unavailable, increasing their financial burden.
Retiree associations have submitted a proposal to the government seeking restructuring of the pension scheme. Their key demands include increasing monthly pension payouts, creating a sustainable pension fund through asset monetisation and providing interim financial assistance linked to inflation until a long-term solution is implemented.
With several legal cases pending across the country, the upcoming MoCA meeting is being viewed as a significant opportunity to address the grievances of thousands of former Air India employees, many of whom are now over 70 years of age and seeking a resolution to their decades-old pension dispute.