Passing away!

We deeply mourn the untimely demise of our beloved member Shri K J Sebastian early today and convey our heart-felt condolences to his bereaved family. The late Sebastian was an officer of amiable disposition with a large circle of friends. May his soul rest in eternal peace!

ANNUAL GENERAL BODY

The annual meeting of the General Body of the Association was held at the RBI premises from 10.30 am on February 08, 2014. The meeting which commenced with a prayer was chaired by President Shri K R Krishna Kumar. More than 150 members were present.

The Secretary, Shri K V Aravindakshan,  presented his report and the Statement of Receipts and Payments for the year 2013 and they were approved by the GB. The highlights of the report are:

Membership: The membership as on December 31, 2013 stood at 285.

Meetings: The Managing Committee met regularly and on 13 occasions.

Family Pension: The GB appreciated the improvements effected by the Bank in the case of family pension which would now be payable at a uniform rate of 30% of the last pay drawn by the deceased,  with a minimum of Rs.3,500/- (five-fold increase) and a maximum of Rs.24,500/- (ten-fold increase).

Updating of Pension: The GB felt impatiently disappointed at the bleak outcome of the decade-old efforts of the Association and at the painful passage of time during which this burning issue has remained shattered in the hands of the Bank, the Government and the Court. It is hoped that this long dark wait will be ended by a bright and hefty disposal much before many of the beneficiaries might cease to exit.

Ex-gratia and Medical Allowance: The demand for the enhancement of the quantum of ex-gratia and medical allowance to pre-1986 retirees who are above 87 years of age and fewer than 400 in number in keeping with the spiralling price rise still persists, and the Bank is expected to accede to it soon. 

Mediclaim - MAF Scheme: The following changes have been made in the Group Mediclaim Policy.

(a) Ceiling of cataract surgery raised to Rs.40,000/- per eye.

(b) No pro-rata deduction of investigation charges irrespective of the room occupied.

(c) Charges for Special Nurse admissible in the case of those above 65 years when hospitalized.

(d) Special Nursing Charges for those above 80 years if medically recommended.

With the renewal of the the Group Mediclaim Policy by the United India Insurance Company and with the retention of MD-India Healthcare Services as the TPA, the Regional Director has arranged for the meeting with the Relationship Manager (Shri Praveen who is also available on 09388620100) in the Establishment Section from 11 am to 1 pm on Mondays and Thursdays.

Matters relating to the delay in settling bills, lack of communication about disposal of bills, reimbursement of bills for ayurvedic treatment, inclusion of more hospitals for cashless facility, proportionate settlement of claims and opening of a TPA office in Trivandrum were seriously discussed at a meeting of the representatives of the RBREA (Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi), the TPA, the Bank and the Insurance Brokers.

Improvements in MAF Scheme: The GB urged the Bank to widen the restrictive structure and scope of the two-decade old MAF scheme in consonance with the growing health needs of the retirees and in tune with the cost of treatment being raised by hospitals from time to time. The GB desired that the retirees should be treated on par with the serving employees in regard to reimbursement of medical expenses. The GB suggested that the Bank consider granting medical allowance on a monthly basis as in the case of pre-1986 retirees. The GB expressed the hope that the Bank would be compassionate and benevolent while considering these demands.

Relief Fund: From the corpus constituted for the Relief Fund an amount of Rs.10,000/- was donated to the Welfare Association for the Rehabilitation of the Differently Abled Children functioning at the Government Ayurveda College at Poojapura and an equal amount was also donated to a poor cancer patient.  The GB appealed to the members to generously contribute to the corpus fund. 

Entertainment: Three one-day picnics to Poovar, Kollam and Paravoor were organized during 2013 and the response was too enormous to accommodate all those interested because of logistic and other constraints.

The GB expressed special thanks to Shri Salim Gangadharan, former Regional Director, who met the Association twice during the year and helped to resolve the issues, and to Shri G Subramania Iyer for auditing the accounts of the Association. The meeting at which many members actively participated by offering innovative views and judicious suggestions dispersed at 1 pm and made for the Luncheon Hall.

A lateral view of the gathering at the Annual General Body

COMMUNICATE BY EMAIL

Members may kindly note to communicate with the RBREA secretary by email rbiretireestvm@gmail.com or with the blogger via comments option (available on the blog below each post) for any queries and suggestions. Thanks.

GOOD NEWS AGAIN

DEARNESS RELIEF

The rates of Dearness Relief in respect of pensioners who retired before November 01, 2007, and of family pensioners are as below:

Pension/Family Pension            Rates for February to July 2013

Pay scale w.e.f. 01.11.2002       120.96%   (CPI = 2288)
Pay scale w.e.f. 01.11.1997       197.52%   (CPI = 1684)
Pay scale w.e.f. 01.11.1992       334.95%   (CPI = 1148)
Pay scale w.e.f. 01.11.1987       732.98%   (CPI =   600)

The rate of Dearness Relief on pay scales effective from November 01, 2007 is 80.25% of the Basic Pension.
 

ANNUAL GENERAL BODY

The Annual General Body of the RBREA met on February 09, 2013. The meeting was presided over by Shri K Ramachandran Nair.  The previous GB minutes, the secretary's report and the audited accounts for the year ended December 31, 2012 were passed. The annual rate of subscription was enhanced and the number of committee members increased. Election of officebearers for 2013 - 2014 was held. While Shri K R Krishna Kumar was elected new president, the existing secretary and the treasurer were re-elected. The Regional Director Shri Salim Gangadharan also addressed the audience on the occasion.

A front view of the General Body

RD Shri Salim Gangadharan addresses

President Shri K Ramachandran Nair speaks

FLASH, FLASH !!!

FAMILY PENSION etc:

Our longstanding demand for updating the Family Pension has since been met. A Government Notification to this effect was published in the Gazette on January 13, 2013. The salient features are as indicated below:

NOTE : As against the present Slab System, the family pension will be paid at the uniform rate of 30% of the pay of the deceased employee.

No.	Item Considered and Granted	Earlier	Now
1	Minimum Family Pension	Rs.720	Rs.3,500
2	Minimum Compassionate Allowance	Rs.720	Rs.3,500
3	Maximum Amount of Family Pension	Rs.3,500	Rs.24,495
4	Minimum Qualifying Service for Pension	33 Years	20 Years

MAF SCHEME - ANNUAL HEALTH CHECK-UP :

The Bank has decided to enhance the amount for Annual Health Check-up for self/spouse as shown below:

No.	Cadre	Earlier	Now
1	Class IV	Rs.1,600	Rs.3,000
2	Class III	Rs.2,000	Rs.3,500
3	Class I (A, B & C)	Rs.2,400	Rs.4,500
4	Class I (D, E & F)	Rs.2,800	Rs.5,000

NOTE : As the new rates are applicable with effect from 2012-13, the differential amount will be credited to the account of the retired employee/spouse concerned.

PROFILE

A Forum of the Retired Employees of RBI, Trivandrum started functioning at Trivandrum about two decades ago. On February 09, 2008 this Forum was renamed as the Reserve Bank Retired Employees' Association, Thiruvananthapuram. The Association has since been working for the welfare for its members.

The objects of the Association shall be to:

(a)  organize and unite ex-employees of the Reserve Bank drawing pension/family pension/ex-gratia from the Reserve Bank of India, Thiruvananthapuram, to promote/strengthen their relations with the Bank and foster among them the spirit of cooperation;

(b)  secure to the members improvement in general conditions of life, social security benefits, pension and related benefits such as medical facilities etc;

(c) promote and safeguard rights and privileges of the members and support them in the redressal of their grievances;

(d)  cooperate and liaise with organisations of serving officers and other staff of the Reserve Bank of India and retired employees' organisations in the country for the benefit of the members and

(e)  take such other steps as necessary to achieve these objects  and are conducive to the well-being of the members.

Affiliation:

The Association is affiliated to the All India Reserve Bank Retired Employees' Association, Mumbai.

Membership:

Membership in the Association is open to any retired/former employee in any grade of the Reserve Bank receiving pension/family penson/ex-gratia/ medical benefits through the Reserve Bank of India. When a member dies, the eligible survivor beneficiary will be offered membership.

Present office Bearers of the Association:

Photo awaited

Shri K R Krishna Kumar, President

Shri K V Aravindakshan, Secretary

Shri N G Pillai, Treasurer