Formula used
Employees who retire on 30 June or 31 December leave service one day before their annual increment falls due on 1 July or 1 January. A Supreme Court judgment of 20 February 2025 held that the increment should nevertheless be counted notionally when pension is fixed, and a Department of Personnel office memorandum of 20 May 2025 gave effect to it. The increment is three per cent of basic pay, rounded up to the next multiple of one hundred rupees as the pay matrix requires. Pension is conventionally half of last drawn basic pay, so half the increment flows into basic pension, and dearness relief is then paid on that higher figure. Two limits matter. The notional increment counts for pension only and not for other pensionary benefits, and no arrears accrue for any period before 30 April 2023.
Example calculation
An employee retiring on 30 June with last basic pay of Rs 1,00,000 gets a notional increment of Rs 3,000, taking basic pay for pension purposes to Rs 1,03,000. Basic pension rises from Rs 50,000 to Rs 51,500, a gain of Rs 1,500. At a dearness relief rate of 60 per cent that is Rs 2,400 a month, or Rs 28,800 a year, and it continues for life while carrying into every future relief revision. Across 24 months of admitted arrears the one-time amount is Rs 57,600.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the basic pay you last drew, as shown in the pay matrix cell you held.
- Enter the dearness relief rate currently applicable to your pension.
- Enter the number of months of arrears you are claiming, counted from 30 April 2023 at the earliest.
- Read the notional increment, which is three per cent of basic pay rounded up to the next hundred.
- Compare basic pension before and after to see the monthly gain.
- Confirm the admitted arrears period with your pension disbursing authority.
Important assumptions
- Pension is half of last drawn basic pay, which assumes full qualifying service.
- The annual increment is three per cent of basic pay, rounded up to the next multiple of one hundred.
- Dearness relief is paid on the full basic pension.
- No arrears accrue for any period before 30 April 2023.
- The increment counts for pension and not for other pensionary benefits.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Expecting the increment to raise gratuity or commutation value, when it applies to pension alone.
- Claiming arrears from the date of retirement rather than from 30 April 2023 where that is later.
- Forgetting that dearness relief multiplies the gain, so the monthly benefit exceeds half the increment.
- Assuming every retirement date qualifies, when only 30 June and 31 December retirees are covered.
- Waiting for automatic revision where the department expects a representation.
A single day that costs a lifetime of pension
Increments in the pay matrix fall due on 1 July and 1 January. An employee retiring on 30 June has completed the full year of service that earns the increment but leaves one day before it is granted, and because pension is fixed on last drawn basic pay, that single day used to reduce pension for the rest of their life. The Supreme Court held that outcome to be arbitrary. The correction is modest in any one month and substantial over a retirement, because it also compounds through every future dearness relief revision.
- Increments fall due on 1 July and 1 January.
- Retirement on 30 June or 31 December misses it by a day.
- Pension is fixed for life on that figure, so the loss repeats monthly.