Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Pension funds

The UPA Government is treading a dangerous path in deciding to allow the parking of five per cent of pension funds in stock markets under the new pension system. One fails to understand how Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, himself an economist, can claim that the new pattern will fetch superior returns, given the unpredictable stock market. Before taking any further step, the Government needs to address the serious issues raised by the Left parties.

Harish Betha,
Mangalore

* * *

The Government's decision is a great blow to the pensioners. The stock market, a speculative venture, can crash as drastically as it can surge. The pensioners do not need huge fortunes; they would be happy with normal returns for their funds. The Left parties' opposition to this move should be supported by all.

V. Pandy,
Tuticorin

* * *

The pension fund, the result of years of hard work, is for the evening of a person's life. This money is to be treated as most sacred. Investing it in the bourses is incorrect since any particular stock, even in the background of the current bullish scenario, can drop due to the manipulations of corporate giants. Besides, a trifling five per cent investment may not do any significant good to the corpus fund. One solution of meeting the ever-increasing needs is to look for ways and means to absorb the over-gains of private corporates.

Krishnaswami K.R.,
Chennai

* * *

It might be better for the Government to seek the opinions of a sample of pensioners about their willingness for any change in the pension scheme.

Cho Vaidheeswaran,
Chennai

* * *

This refers to Dr. Singh's observation that the move will fetch superior returns. A better way would be to invest the pensions and even salaries of Ministers, MPs, and MLAs in stocks and check the returns for 5 or 10 years! Then, based on the results, the pensions of the commoners can be invested in the market.

R. Indira Ramani Sankar,
Chennai

* * *

The proposed new pension system will go a long way in enhancing the yield of the total funds and mitigate the difficulty the Government is likely to face in the future. A developing nation such as India cannot ignore the need for enhancing the yield of the funds at its disposal.

K.M. Lakshmana Rao,
Chicago

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