In letters to the Transaction Advisor kpmg Which has also been flagged for Bank CEOs and Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) in the Ministry of Finance, IDBI elderly foruma voluntary group of retirees IDBI Bank employees say that there is no information about pension and voluntary health scheme in the data room made for investors.VHS) offered to retired employees of IDBI Bank.
Sanath Chakraborty, Vice President, IDBI Elders Forum said, “This is important for retirees in their twilight years. Potential buyers/investors should be made aware that pension and VHS will have to be continued whenever they take over the bank ” ,
The retirees wrote to KPMG and the finance ministry in February and another in November. However, the lack of response to the letter has made him apprehensive about his post-retirement pension and health plans.
Chakraborty said the pension is being given in lieu of the Employees’ Provident Fund and is managed by the IDBI Pension Trust, which does not require the bank to provide any additional funds. The VHS fund was contributed by employees during their service periods, with the bank pitching in when necessary. Retirees are entitled to a fixed amount annually for both hospitalization and non-hospitalization treatment as per their grade.
Chakraborty told that at present about 1700 people are being served under the pension scheme while about 1200 people are registered in VHS. “It is estimated that the bank’s liability towards the pension scheme is Rs 14 crore and last checked the deposits in the VHS account were over Rs 50 crore,” he added. DIPAM, which looks into all matters related to investments, asset monetisation, stake sale and disinvestment, did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Last week, the government extended the deadline for submission of preliminary bids for the privatization of IDBI Bank from December 16 to January 7. Government and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) holds 94.7% stake in IDBI Bank and is looking to sell 60.7%. The successful bidder will make an open offer to acquire 5.3% public shareholding.