look news india
In order to provide financial support to the dependent families of government employees and pensioners after their demise, the Central and various state governments have from time to time made the rules of Family Pension more humane and practical. The most important change in this scope of social security is that now along with the widow and unmarried daughters of the employee, Divorced Daughters Considering them as dependents, they have been given full legal right to receive family pension for life. If after the breakdown of marital relations a daughter was dependent on her deceased parents and has no independent means of livelihood, then she becomes entitled to pension.
Under the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) and CCS (Pension) Rules, certain mandatory conditions have been prescribed for receiving family pension:
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Timeline for Divorce Process: If the divorce proceedings had been filed in a competent court while the parents (employee or his/her spouse) were alive, even if the final divorce decree was issued after the death of the parents, the daughter would be eligible for pension.
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Dependency and Income Criteria: The divorced daughter’s own monthly income should be less than the limit prescribed by the government (minimum basic family pension of ₹ 9,000 + dearness relief/DR thereon). If her own regular earnings or pension exceeds this limit, she will not be considered dependent.
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Condition of not remarrying: This pension is available for life, provided the woman does not remarry. If she remarries or starts earning a living, the pension will stop.
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Valid decree of competent court: It is mandatory to have a legally certified divorce decree (Certified Copy of Divorce Decree) issued from a family court or a competent civil court. The department does not accept mere notarized affidavit or mutual social agreement.
Family pension is payable directly to a divorced daughter only if there are no claimants with higher priority than her:
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First of all, the pension is given to the surviving spouse of the deceased employee.
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After the death of the spouse, if there is an unmarried son or daughter below 25 years of age, or a disabled child (whose right is lifelong), then they will get the pension first.
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After all these are not available or are ineligible, then come unmarried, widowed and divorced daughters above 25 years of age. If there are more than one daughters, pension is given in the order of date of birth (eldest daughter first).
The divorced daughter has to attach the following papers with the claim form:
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Original death certificate of the deceased government employee and mother/father.
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Original pension payment order (PPO) number of the employee and records related to service book.
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Valid divorce decree (attested copy) issued by the Family Court.
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If the divorce is finalized after the death of the parents, a court document proving that the case was filed during the lifetime of the parents.
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Aadhar Card, PAN Card and Bank Passbook of the applicant.
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Non-Remarriage Certificate and Income Certificate/Self-Declaration that she is not earning livelihood.
The application process depends on the department where the employee was serving:
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Contact with concerned department: First of all contact the Head of the office or department where the deceased employee was last working.
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Filling Form-14: Get ‘Form-14’ prescribed for approval of family pension and fill your complete information in it.
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Verification of Documents: Attach all the legal and personal documents along with the filled form and submit it to the department.
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Investigation by PAO and AG: The department will check these documents and send them to Pay and Accounts Office (PAO) or Accountant General (AG Office).
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Issuance of Revised PPO: If the verification is successful, a new or revised pension payment order will be issued in the name of the daughter by the concerned office and the pension will start coming directly into her bank account.