Sub:
Simplification
of pension process for permanently disabled children/siblings and
dependent patients - instructions regarding. This Department’s O.M.
No.1/19/11-P&PW (E), dated 3.8.2011, O.M. No.1/6/2008-P&PW (E),
dated 22.6.2010 and O.M. No.1/21/91-P&PW (E), dated 20.1.93 refer.The
undersigned is directed to state that a number of representations are
being received in the Department of Pension & Pensioners Welfare
about the difficulties being faced in getting the revised Pension
Payment Orders (PPOs) issued for old parents and disabled
children/siblings after the death of the pensioner family pensioner.
2.
The matter has been examined and it has been decided that the
employee/pensioner/family pensioner may, at any time before or after
retirement/death of employee, make a request to the Appointing Authority
seeking advance approval for grant of family pension for life to a
permanently disabled child/sibling in terms of provisions contained in
rule 54 of the CCS(Pension) Rules, 1972, which are reproduced as under:
Proviso
(iv) to sub-rule 6 (iv,): before allowing the family pension for life
to any such son or daughter, the appointing authority shall satisfy that
the handicap is of such a nature so us to prevent him or her from
earning his or her livelihood and the same shall be evidenced by a
certificate obtained from a Medical Board comprising of a Medical
Superintendent or a Principal or a Director or Head of the Institution
or his nominee as Chairman and two other members, out of which at least
one shall be a Specialist in the particular area of mental or physical
disability including mental retardation setting out, as far as possible,
the exact mental or physical condition of the child;
Sub rule 10
(B): Family pension ro the dependent disabled siblings shall be payable
if the siblings were wholly dependent upon the Govt. servant
immediately before his or her death and deceased Govt. servant is not
survived by a widow or an eligible child or eligible parents.
3.
In terms of sub-rule (10-A) (reproduced below) a request for advance
approval to the grant of family pension to the parents may he made to
the Head of Office.
Sub rule 10A (a): Family
pension to the
parents shall be payable if the parents were wholly dependent on the
Govt. servant immediately before his or her death and she deceased Govt.
servant is not survived by a widow or an eligible child.
(b):
The family pension, wherever admissible to parents, will be payable to
the mother of the deceased Govt. servant failing which to the futher of
the deceased Govt. servant.
4. On acceptance of such a request,
the Head of Office (HOO) will immediately issue a sanction order for
grant of family pension to such children/siblings/dependent parents on
their turn. No further authorisation for grant of family pension to the
disabled child/sibling dependent parents would be required. The HOO and
Pay and Accounts Officer (PAO) will maintain the details of such
disabled children/siblings/dependent parents in the service book and
pension file of the employee/pensioner to enable prompt processing of
such requests. On the basis of this approval, the permanently disabled
child/sibling/dependent parents will be authorised to receive family
pension at the appropriate lime, i.e., after the death of pensioner
and/or after the death / ineligibility of any other member in the family
eligible to receive family pension prior to the
disabled/child/sibling/dependent parents, as explained in the succeeding
paragraphs.
5. The name(s) of permanently disabled child /
children / siblings and or dependent/parents may be added to the PPO
issued to the retiring Government servant if there is no other eligible
prior claimant for family pension other than the spouse. No fresh PPO
need to be issued in such cases and the family pension will be payable
by the pension disbursing authority in the following order and the
following manner:
(i) To the spouse — on the death of the
pensioner - on production of death certificate of pensioner. This family
pension will continue till death or remarriage of spouse. In the case
of a childless widow, the family pension may continue even after her
re-marriage as per rules.
(ii) To the permanently disabled
Child/Children - on the death/remarriage of spouse — on production of
such death certificate remarriage-intimation. Family pension to the
spouse will he discontinued and family pension would be allowed by the
PDA for life for permanently disabled children in the order prescribed
in Rule 54 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972.
(iii) To the
dependent parents — first mother, then father - when claimants in (I)
and (ii) die or become ineligible on production of death
certificate/remarriage-intimation of spouse and/or death certificates of
all permanently disabled children, family pension would be allowed by
the PDA to dependent parents. This family pension would continue till
death of the dependent parents.
(iv) To the permanently disabled
sibling/s - when family pension to all above cases to be payable on
account of death/re-marriage-on production of death certificates/
remarriage-intimation as applicable, the family pension will be allowed
by PDA to the permanently disabled siblings.
6. For all other
cases where there are other eligible prior claimants to family pension
in accordance with rule 54 of CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, the names of
disabled child/children/dependent parents/permanently disabled sibling
will be added to the PPO issued to the preceding eligible family
pensioner, based on the authorisation made as in para 3 above. Family
pension to these permanently disabled child/children/siblings/dependent
parents will be payable after the death/ineligibility of the prior
claimant, as the case maybe.
7. The authorisation as indicated
above shall be made in the PPO or by issuing a revised authority if a
child, parents or sibling is authorised for family pension after issue
of the PPO. The revised authority shall take the usual route to the
pension disbursing authority. The Pension Disbursing Authority shall
start disbursing family pension to the permanently disabled
child/sibling or dependent parents after the death of the
pensioner/spouse/other family pensioner, as the case may be, on the
basis of the PPO/revised PPO, approval of the appointing authority and
the death certificate(s) of the pensioner and other family pensioners
and the self-certificate for income.
8. Such an authorisation
shall become invalid in case a person becomes member of family after
issue/amendment of such PPO and is entitled to family pension prior to
the disabled child/sibling/dependent parents at the time of the death of
the pensioner/spouse. For example, the pensioner may marry/remarry
after the death of first spouse or adopt a child. Such spouse/child may
be eligible for family pension at the time of death of the pensioner or
death/ineligibility of the spouse. A child adopted by the spouse of the
pensioner shall not be treated as a member of the family of the deceased
pensioner. A decision regarding grant of family pension in such cases
will be taken by the Head of Office in accordance with the provisions of
rule 54 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972.
9. In order to
facilitate the Bank Authorities to promptly sanction the family pension
in such cases, the Govt. Employees/pensioners/their spouses may open a
bank account of such children/siblings/parents and indicate this
information to the Head of Office for inclusion in the PPO/revised
authority.
10. As regards pensioners/family pensioners belonging
lo the Indian Audit and Accounts Departments, these instructions issue
after consultation with the Office of Comptroller and Auditor General of
India.
