Family pension: New rules on how daughters can claim a government employee’s pension amount

Family Pension: The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) has introduced new guidelines regarding record keeping for family members of government pensioners. The directive specifies that a daughter’s name cannot be removed from the list of family members eligible for a family pension for a government employee.

Once a government employee mentions his daughter’s name on Form 4, she is officially recognized as a family member, regardless of her pension eligibility. A daughter remains eligible for the family pension until she gets married, remarries, gets a job or experiences a mental or physical disability.

Daughters who are unmarried, widowed or divorced and over 25 years old may be eligible for a family pension, provided their siblings are over 25 years old or financially independent. Children with disabilities in particular receive priority for pensions.

According to the regulations, a government employee must provide information about his family members, including spouse, children, parents and disabled siblings (regardless of their entitlement to a family pension) upon employment. In addition, the employee must update this information together with their pension documentation before retirement.

“The daughter shall be deemed to be a member of the family of the government servant as declared by the government servant in the prescribed proforma. Therefore, the name of the daughter will continue to be included in the details of the relatives,” the office memo said. It was further clarified that the right to a family pension will be decided upon the death of pensioners/family pensioners in accordance with the rules.

Important revised details

> According to the guidelines, a daughter (except daughters with mental or physical disabilities) can receive a pension until she marries, remarries or starts earning a living.

> As per the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 2021, the definition of family includes unmarried, married and widowed daughters, including stepdaughters and adopted daughters. Nevertheless, questions have been raised seeking clarity on the removal of a daughter’s name from the list of dependents after retirement.

> In case of ongoing divorce or legal proceedings, female employees or pensioners can apply for family pension benefits for their children in the event of death. This also applies to protection cases against their spouses.

> If no eligible children are alive at the time of the woman’s death, the family pension is received by the widower. The pension is initially paid to the widower if he or she is the legal guardian of minor or disabled children.

> If the widower loses guardianship, the pension is managed by the designated guardian.

Pension for adults

Upon reaching adulthood, eligible children who are still eligible for the pension will receive direct transfers.

In the event that not all eligible children are entitled to further benefits under Rule 50, the widower will receive the family pension until he or she remarries or dies.

This updated protocol guarantees a systematic allocation of pensions, with attention to the well-being of children in different family situations.

In the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for central government employees, the family pension is initially set at 30% of the final salary of the deceased employee. However, if the employee has been employed for at least seven years, the family pension can be increased to 50% of the last salary drawn. This increased rate of 50% is granted for a period of 7 years after the employee’s death or until the retiree turns 67, whichever comes first. After this period, the family pension returns to the standard rate of 30% of the final salary.