Introduction

In a society like India, where it has not been possible for the state to extend social security to all its citizens, people tend to work as long as they can so that they may be able to support themselves during periods when they have no gainful employment. This applies to interruptions in employment caused by retrenchment, sickness, disablement, as well as advanced old age. Obviously, as old age advances into the seventies and eighties, opportunities for gainful employment get increasingly limited.

The need to engage in gainful employment, even after formal retirement from a given employment may arise due to a variety of reasons:

1. (a) There are specific instances where employees are not entitled to any retirement benefits; eg. casual workers and self-employed persons;

2. (b) In respect of several categories of regularly employed salaried persons, they may be entitled to, at the time of retirement, a onetime payment of gratuity based on salary last drawn and a provident fund based on contributions made during the period of service;

3. (c) In a relatively limited number of cases, salaried employees are entitled to a regular monthly pension in addition to the normal gratuity and provident fund payments.

It is important to note that the maximum pension which civil servants in India are currently entitled to is one half of the basic pay last drawn (plus dearness relief based on cost of living index).