Important Update: Life Certificate Requirement for Parents Receiving Enhanced Family Pension
The Department of Pension & Pensioners' Welfare has issued a crucial clarification regarding the annual submission of life certificates by parents who are receiving enhanced family pension. This change closes a gap in the previous pension rules and ensures pension payments remain accurate when both parents receive enhanced family pension following the death of their government-servant child.
Who does this affect?
The requirement applies to parents receiving enhanced family pension under the following categories:
- CCS (EOP) Rules, 1939: Categories 'D' and 'E'
- CCS (EOP) Rules, 2023: Categories 'C' and 'D'
Understanding the enhanced family pension rates
The enhanced family pension payable to parents depends on whether both parents are alive or only one parent survives:
- Both parents alive: Enhanced family pension at 75% (either of the deceased servant's pay or the family pension payable to a widow, depending on the rules in force).
- Single parent alive: Family pension at 60% to the surviving parent.
The problem that led to this clarification
Previously there was no explicit requirement for both parents to submit life certificates when receiving the enhanced 75% rate. That omission sometimes led to continued payment at the higher rate even after one parent had passed away, which caused overpayments.
The new requirement
To prevent overpayments and ensure correct pension adjustments, the Department has mandated that both parents must submit life certificates annually when they are receiving enhanced family pension. This measure enables the pension disbursing authorities to detect when one parent has passed away and reduce the pension to the correct 60% rate for the surviving parent.
Key points for parents to remember
- Annual submission: Both parents must submit their life certificates every year.
- Mandatory compliance: This requirement is mandatory for all cases where both parents receive enhanced family pension.
- Prevention of overpayment: The change protects the pension system and beneficiaries by ensuring accurate payments.
- Applies across rules: The requirement applies equally under both the 1939 and 2023 EOP rules.
Important details about family pension to parents
- Eligibility condition: Family pension to parents is payable only when there is no widow/widower or eligible children, or when such family members cease to be eligible.
- Priority of payment: Payment is first to the mother and, failing her, to the father.
- No income limit: Payment is without reference to parents' other income.
- Lifetime benefit: The family pension is payable to parents for life.
What this means for you
If you are a parent receiving enhanced family pension under the categories above, you and your spouse must now submit life certificates annually. This ensures transparency and accuracy in pension payments and helps the authorities adjust payments promptly if circumstances change.
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