Delivering the 2025 Budget speech in Parliament today, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced a proposal to revise the pensions of all pensioners who retired before January 1, 2020. The revisions will be implemented in three phases, aligning with the salary scales applicable to the year 2020 as per Public Administration Circular No. 03/2016.
President Dissanayake highlighted that a monthly increase of Rs. 3,000 had already been implemented immediately after the Presidential election to address pension anomalies for those who retired before January 1, 2020. This adjustment was made by considering the salaries and benefits entitled to pensioners.
However, the President noted that a pension anomaly persists due to the revision of pensions for government employees who retired between 2016 and 2020. These pensions were adjusted based on the fifth-phase salary scale relevant to the year 2020, while all pensioners who retired before December 31, 2017, remain on the same salary scale. This discrepancy has remained unresolved for a significant period.
Given the limited fiscal space, the government has decided to address this issue in a phased manner. As the first step, President Dissanayake proposed revising the pensions of all pensioners who retired before January 1, 2018, in line with the third-stage salary scales relevant to the year 2018, as outlined in Public Administration Circular No. 03/2016. This revision is set to take effect from July 2025.
To support this initiative, the government has allocated Rs. 10,000 million in the 2025 Budget. The President emphasized that this phased approach aims to resolve long-standing pension anomalies while ensuring fiscal responsibility. Further details on the subsequent phases will be announced in due course.
This proposal marks a significant step toward addressing the concerns of pensioners and ensuring equitable treatment for all retired government employees.
