According to the instructions of His Excellency the President, The minister further mentioned that an expert committee headed by Mr. U. R. Seneviratne was recently appointed and based on the reviews, they will provide this interim allowance to the retired public servants, til the revised salary structure is implemented from 2025.
The minister pointed out that there are currently around 7 lakh government pensioners receiving pension and accordingly the government will incur an additional expenditure of Rs 8.4 billion to provide this interim payment in 2024.
The minister also said that the move was taken as a quick short-term solution by the government considering the financial constraints that retired civil servants are currently facing despite the challenges in debt management.
Meanwhile, a special meeting was held between Minister Siambalapitiya and officials of the Joint National Organization of Government Pensioners this morning (02) and a discussion was also held regarding increasing the interest rate of senior citizens by eliminating pension discrepancies.