Centre directs departments to ensure immediate commencement of family pensions

The Centre has directed all departments to ensure that family pension begins within a month of receiving claims from the families of deceased government employees. In addition, the Department of Pensions and Pensioners' Welfare has also come out with two detailed notes - one for employees under Old Pension Scheme and the other for those under National Pension System (NPS) in order to disburse all entitlements of the family on the death of government staff.

"In addition, employee's contributions and returns thereon in the NPS pension corpus shall also be paid to the family member," it said.

Moreover, the head of the office will commence the process to sanction family pension and simultaneously close Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) under the NPS. Government contribution and returns thereon would be transferred into the government account, the order added.

"The remaining amount would be paid in a lump sum to the nominee or legal heir as per PFRDA regulations," it said.

Meanwhile, Manjeet Singh Patel, National Movement for Old Pension Scheme (NMOPS) Delhi unit president who has been fighting for the scrapping of the new pension system in order to ensure that all employees benefit through the old pension scheme also informed that the new order will bring relief to the affected families. 

"We are very happy that the government has decided to give an employee's contribution and returns on it in his/her NPS pension corpus in addition to the family pension.

"We also request the Centre to ensure that employees get sole right on their entire contribution and returns (except's the government contribution) in NPS corpus also so that they can withdraw it as and when they want," Mr Patel said.

The NMOPS non-profit organisation has over 13 lakh central and state government employees as its members. The Department of Pensions and Pensioners' Welfare order remarked that several government employees lost their lives owing to the recent COVID-19 surge. 

"In many cases, the deceased employees were the sole bread-winners of their family and the casualties have left families devastated and in an urgent need of funds for livelihood.

"It is, therefore, incumbent on the government to ensure that the family pension and other entitlements in respect of the deceased employees are released to their families expeditiously," it said in the order issued on Thursday.

The departments have therefore been asked to strictly comply with the rules and to ensure that payment of provisional family pension is commenced by the head of office immediately on receipt of the claim (with death certificate) from the eligible family member. Additionally, the department have also been asked to ensure that the payment of provisional death gratuity is made to the nominees/family members immediately after forwarding the case to the Pay and Accounts Office. Moreover, action may be taken on priority basis for disbursement of regular family pension through the bank and for payment of other entitlements of the family on the death of the government employee, the department added.

"It may be ensured that the PPO for family pension is issued and disbursement of regular family pension is commenced by the bank not later than one month of the receipt of the claim for family pension," it said.

The departments have also been asked to submit a monthly report comprising details like name and designation of government servant died since January 1, 2020, the date on which provisional family pension and provisional gratuity were sanctioned, the date on which PPO was issued, the date on which other entitlements were paid and reasons for the delays, if any, and remedial action taken to avoid delays in future, the order said. 

With PTI Inputs