TA Rules for Retiring Government Employees

Retirement brings its own version of Travelling Allowance — meant to help an employee relocate from their last duty station to wherever they choose to settle. While the structure closely mirrors TA on transfer, the trigger conditions are different, and getting them right matters for what can be a significant one-time benefit. Here's the complete picture.

The Four Components of TA on Retirement

Just like TA on transfer, TA on retirement (as covered under DoE O.M. No. 19030/1/2017-E.IV) consists of:

1. Travel entitlement for self and family
2. Composite Transfer Grant (CTG)
3. Reimbursement of charges on transportation of personal effects
4. Reimbursement of charges on transportation of conveyance

The general conditions of admissibility for TA on retirement are prescribed under S.R. 147, and continue to apply alongside these 7th CPC entitlement tables.

1. Travel Entitlements on Retirement

Travel entitlements as prescribed for tour/transfer (covered in our companion articles on TA on Tour and TA on Transfer) apply on retirement too — by Pay Level — except the International Travel table, which has no application here.

2. Composite Transfer Grant (CTG) on Retirement — The Key Difference

Unlike a transfer, where CTG is triggered by a posting order, on retirement the trigger is where you choose to settle after leaving service:

⚠️ As with transfer CTG, NPA and MSP are excluded from Basic Pay for this calculation. Also note: transfer incidentals and road mileage for journeys between the residence and the railway station/bus stand at both the old and new station are already subsumed within the CTG on retirement and are not separately admissible.

3. Transportation of Personal Effects on Retirement

This component follows exactly the same entitlement structure as on transfer:

As on transfer, these rates rise by 25% whenever DA crosses a 50% increase threshold, and reimbursement requires production of actual receipts/vouchers — mandatory even for moves involving the North Eastern Region, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep.

4. Transportation of Conveyance on Retirement

Worked Example

Smt. Lakshmi Iyer, a Level 11 officer with last-drawn Basic Pay of ₹78,000, retires from service at her last duty station in Bengaluru and decides to settle in her hometown, Coimbatore — well over 20 km away. Her CTG works out to 80% of ₹78,000 = ₹62,400 (subject to any DA-linked enhancement applicable at the time). She separately claims personal effects transportation up to 6,000 kg by goods train, supported by actual vouchers, and reimbursement for transporting her motor car under the conveyance transport entitlement available to Level 6 and above.

Contrast this with Shri Ramesh Babu, a Level 9 officer who retires and simply continues to live in his existing Government accommodation's neighbourhood — within 15 km of his last duty station. He shifts to a smaller private flat in the same area. Since the distance is under 20 km but a genuine change of residence is involved, he is entitled to only one-third of the CTG.

Why This Often Gets Missed

Many retiring employees assume TA on retirement automatically mirrors transfer TA in every respect, and end up separately claiming road mileage for station-to-residence journeys at both ends — only to have it disallowed, since this is already built into the CTG. Equally, some assume no CTG is payable if they continue living in the same city, missing out on the one-third entitlement they're still due if they've genuinely changed residence. Reading your pension/retirement papers checklist (Form 7) alongside this entitlement table well before your actual retirement date helps avoid both mistakes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)