Government employees pension payment: Centre liberalises provisional pension rules, extends payment date

Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh announced on Wednesday that the government has decided to extend the payment of provisional pension up to a period of one year from the date of retirement of government employees amid the country being hit severely by the coronavirus. 

As per the Ministry of Personnel’s statement, the union minister said that provisional family pension was also liberalised. He said, this during a virtual meeting with senior officers of the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) and the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG). 

He added, the instructions have already been issued that family pension may be sanctioned immediately on receipt of a claim for family pension and death certificate from the eligible family member without waiting for forwarding of the family pension case to Pay and Accounts Office.  

“The government has decided to extend the payment of provisional pension up to a period of one year from the date of retirement in view of the pandemic situation,” the statement read. In some cases, government servants have died after retirement without submitting the pension papers, it added.  

To avoid hardships to the families of such government employees, the instructions have been given for the issue of Pension Payment Order for release of arrears of pension (from the date of retirement till the date of death of retired government servant) in all such cases and for grant of family pension to the family member from the date of death, the ministry’s statement reads. 

The government has issued an order to extend the benefit of lump-sum compensation to National Pension Scheme (NPS) employees also, if they suffer a disability in the performance of duty and are retained in government service despite such disablement. 

The rule states, if a government servant suffers a disability due to an injury or disease in the performance of duty and is retained in government service despite such disablement, a lump sum compensation is paid to the person in lieu of the disability element of the disability pension.