look news india
EPS-95 (Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995) is a strong social security cover for crores of private and organized sector employees covered under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). The contribution made to the PF and pension account from the employee’s basic salary and dearness allowance during employment, becomes a source of monthly income after retirement. Often this question arises in the minds of people that if a pensioner dies suddenly, then what happens to that pension? Does this amount stop or does the family continue to benefit from it? EPFO has clear rules that after the death of the pensioner, this pension does not stop, rather it gets converted into ‘Family Pension’ as a matter of right. Under this, financial support is given every month to the wife (or husband) of the deceased and children below 25 years of age. The main objective of this scheme is to ensure that even in the absence of the head of the family, the dependents do not have to face financial crisis to live a respectable life.
According to the rules of EPS-95, immediately after the death of the pensioner, his wife (or husband in case of a female pensioner) starts getting ‘Widow/Widower Pension’. This amount is approximately 50 percent of the total monthly pension the pensioner is receiving. EPFO has also set a limit for minimum widow pension so that the dependents can get adequate assistance in times of inflation. The wife continues to receive this pension for her entire lifetime. However, one of the main conditions in this is that if the wife of the deceased remarries (second marriage), then her widow pension stops from the same day. If the pensioner has had more than one marriage during his service period and they are valid, the distribution of family pension is done as per the procedure prescribed under the rules. Even if the pensioner has no children and the wife is alone, it still acts as a lifelong financial support.
After the death of the pensioner, there is a provision of monthly financial assistance not only to the wife but also to his children, which is called ‘Children Pension’. According to the rules, maximum two children of a family can get this pension together. The amount received by each child is 25 percent of the pension received by the widow. This pension is available only till the child completes 25 years of age, after which it is abolished. If there are more than two children in the family, then the first elder two children will get the benefit till the age of 25 years and after they complete 25 years, this order is automatically transferred to the younger children. If unfortunately both the mother and father have passed away or the widowed mother also dies later, then the children are given ‘Orphan Pension’. The rate of orphan pension is up to 75 percent of the widow pension and is also given to a maximum of two children at a time up to the age of 25 years. Apart from this, if any child in the family has physical or mental disability (Locomotor/Intellectual Disability), then he/she is kept out of the age limit (25 years). On submitting the certificate from a competent medical officer, the disabled child continues to get the benefit of family pension throughout his life.
In many cases the pensioner is unmarried or has neither a wife nor any dependent children alive at the time of his death. In such a situation, as per the rules of EPFO, the pension amount does not go waste. If the pensioner has made valid nomination of any other dependent in the EPFO records during his employment, then the pension is given to that nominee for life. Even if no nomination is filed, the parents (mother and thereafter father) who are completely dependent on the pensioner have the legal right to receive family pension. For this, it is mandatory to provide dependent certificate and details of family status to EPFO at the local level.
After the death of the pensioner, the dependents should keep the necessary documents ready in advance while filling the claim form so that the application does not get rejected. The most important document is the original ‘Death Certificate’ issued by the competent authority (Municipal Corporation, Municipality or Gram Panchayat). Apart from this, it is necessary to have PPO number (Pension Payment Order) and UAN number of the deceased pensioner. Aadhar Card, PAN Card and passport size photograph of the claimant i.e. wife and children are required. Along with this, bank account details (attested copy of bank passbook or canceled cheque), clearly mentioning the name of the claimant, account number and IFSC code. In case of children, birth certificate or school certificate has to be attached to prove their date of birth and in case of disabled child, medical disability certificate issued from a government hospital has to be attached.
After the death of the pensioner, the family has to fill ‘Form 10D’ of EPFO to receive pension. If the e-nomination of the deceased member is already active on the EPFO portal and linked to Aadhaar, the nominee can file the claim directly by logging in online to the ‘Unified Member Portal’ of EPFO. For this, one has to go to the portal and select the claim section in online services and select Form 10D and upload all the necessary documents in PDF format. If there is any technical glitch in the online process or e-nomination is not registered, Form 10D can also be filled offline by downloading it from the official website of EPFO. In this form, after filling the details of the deceased pensioner, complete information of dependents, bank account details and self-attesting all the necessary documents, it has to be submitted to the regional EPFO office from where the pensioner’s PPO was issued. After the documents are verified, the claim is approved within 20 to 30 working days and the pension amount gets transferred directly to the bank account of the dependent on the scheduled date of every month. The family should also keep in mind that to continue the pension, it is mandatory to submit Digital Life Certificate every year.