Maharashtra Government Staff to Receive Arrears for DA from November 2025 to January 2026 with May Salary

Maharashtra Approves Payment of Pending Dearness Allowance Arrears

The Maharashtra government has approved the payment of pending dearness allowance (DA) arrears for state government employees under the 5th, 6th and 7th Central Pay Commissions (CPC), with the total payout estimated at around Rs 800 crore.

The arrears for November and December 2025 and January 2026 will be paid along with salaries for May 2026. This decision covers employees drawing salaries under different pay commission structures still applicable across departments and categories of state staff.

In addition to the DA arrears, the Maharashtra government has also approved a 2 percent increase in dearness relief (DR) for retired All India Services officers. The revised DR component of 60 percent will apply to individual and family pensioners with effect from January 1, 2026.

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Dearness allowance is a cost-of-living adjustment paid to government employees and pensioners to offset inflation. It is calculated as a percentage of basic pay or pension and revised periodically based on movements in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

This decision comes days after the Maharashtra government revised rules around its pension framework for government employees covered under the National Pension System (NPS). Last week, the Finance Department issued a circular making the state's revised NPS optional for eligible employees currently covered under the existing NPS structure.

Employees willing to shift to the revised scheme can exercise the option until December 31, 2026. The revised framework had originally been approved by the Maharashtra cabinet in 2023 and was designed along the lines of the Centre's Unified Pension Scheme (UPS).

Comparison of Revised NPS Features

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Under the revised framework, employees opting for the revised NPS will be required to deposit 60 percent of the retirement corpus received from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) with the state government through the drawing and disbursing officer at the time of retirement. The remaining 40 percent of the accumulated corpus will be used to purchase an annuity. The annuity amount will then be adjusted against the pension payable by the state government.

The circular also allows early withdrawal from the NPS corpus under the revised framework, but specifies that the withdrawn amount must be refunded with 10 percent interest. If not repaid, the corresponding entitlement will be adjusted.

Employees opting for the revised scheme will also remain eligible for retirement gratuity in line with government orders issued in March 2023.

The Centre had earlier introduced the Unified Pension Scheme for central government employees as an alternative structure within the NPS framework. Multiple states, including Maharashtra, have since reviewed pension-related structures and retirement benefits amid continued employee demands over pension security and inflation-linked payouts.