The central government has announced an important relief for its employees: there will now be no delay in receiving pensions and retirement benefits.
To achieve this, comprehensive new guidelines have been issued to ensure that no employee has to wait for months to get their pension or Pension Payment Order (PPO).
Key Details of the New Guidelines
The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) has issued detailed instructions to all ministries and government departments. These include:
PPOs before Retirement: All departments must ensure that PPOs are issued before an employee retires.
Digitization of Records: Employees’ service records will be digitized and available online through the e-HRMS system, making the pension process more transparent.
Pension Mitra in Every Department
A “Pension Mitra” or Welfare Officer will be appointed in every department to help retiring employees. Their responsibilities include:
Assisting with filling forms, preparing documents, and applying for pensions.
Helping families obtain a family pension in case of an employee’s death.
Ensuring interim pensions are provided even if an employee is under investigation.
Gratuity will be withheld only until final orders, not beyond.
Mandatory Use of Bhavishya Portal
All ministries are required to use the Bhavishya portal, which:
Tracks pension cases in real time.
Ensures PPOs are issued at least two months before retirement.
Monitors cases through a nodal inspection committee in each ministry and a high-level inspection committee (HLOC) reviewing pending cases every two months.
Timely PPO Issuance
Under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021, it is now mandatory that every employee’s PPO or e-PPO is issued at least two months before retirement. These measures aim to:
Speed up the pension process.
Provide employees with a dignified, stress-free retirement.
Ensure no employee is left waiting for their pension.
