New Delhi: Any female employee can now nominate her son or daughter for a family pension instead of her husband, as the practice had been so far.
Union Minister of State for Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh said today that the Department of Pensions and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoP&PW) introduced an amendment to the CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021, allowing female government employees or pensioners to grant family pensions after their demise, to their eligible child/children, instead of their spouse. Previously, a family pension was granted to the spouse of a deceased government servant or pensioner, while other family members became eligible only after the spouse’s ineligibility or demise.
The Minister said the rules were amended to provide equitable rights to women.
The amendment addresses situations where marital discord leads to divorce proceedings or cases filed under acts such as the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, Dowry Prohibition Act or the Indian Penal Code, the Minister said.
In an office memorandum, the DoP&PW said, the female government servant or pensioner must make a written request to the concerned Head of Office, stating that family pension should be granted to her eligible child/children in precedence to her spouse, in the event of her death during the ongoing proceedings. If the female government servant or pensioner passes away during the proceedings, the family pension will be disbursed accordingly.
The DoP&PW notification said if a woman employee is survived by a widower with no eligible child, the family pension will be payable to the widower. However, if the widower is the guardian of a minor child or a child suffering from a mental disorder, it will be payable to the widower, as long as he remains the guardian. Once the child attains majority and remains eligible for family pension, it will be payable directly to the child.
For cases where the deceased female government servant or pensioner is survived by a widower and children who have attained majority but are still eligible for family pension, the family pension will be payable to such children. After all eligible children cease to be eligible for family pension, it will become payable to the widower until his death or remarriage, whichever occurs first.
Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also in charge of DoPT (Department of Personnel & Training), said that a series of Governance reforms have been introduced to provide an enabling environment for working women.
Dwelling on the Women-Centric reforms in the Department of Pensions and Pensioners’ Welfare, he said, an earlier order enabled a divorced daughter, in whose case a decree of divorce was issued after the death of her parents, to be eligible for family pension if the divorce petition was filed before the death of the parents.
Similarly, he said, the families of missing employees covered under NPS can now get family pension within 6 months of lodging FIR and not wait for 7 years after which the employee is considered deemed dead. Even in cases where the Government servant dies before completing a service of 7 years, the family pension shall be payable to the family at an enhanced rate of 50% of last pay for the first 10 years and thereafter @ 30% of last pay.
He also mentioned amendments issued by the DoPT related to Child Care Leave (CCL); Leave Travel Concession (LTC) and foreign travel for Women employees on CCL; grant of Special Allowance @ Rs.3000/- p.m. to Women employees with Disability for child care with effect from July 1, 2022, which will increase by 25% on increase of Dearness Allowance by 50%; Special Leave provision for an aggrieved female Government Servant in matters of sexual harassment and grant of Special Maternity Leave of 60 days to a female Central Government Servant in case of death of a child soon after birth/stillbirth.
– global bihari bureau
