Process of authorisation of pension and gratuity on retirement on superannuation: Timelines for completion of various activities

Process of authorisation of pension and gratuity on retirement on superannuation of a Government servant: DoP&PW OM dated 28.10.2022 regarding timelines for completion of various activities

सं. 11(15)/2022-P&PW(H)-8363 (1)
भारत सरकार
पेंशन और पेंशभोगी कल्‍याण विभाग

8वी. मंजिल ‘बी’ विंग, जनपथ भवन
जनपथ, नई दिल्‍ली-110001
दिनांक: 28 अक्‍टूबर, 2022

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Sub: Timelines for completion of various activities in the process of authorisation of pension and gratuity on retirement on superannuation of a Government servant.

The undersigned is directed to say that Department of Pension & Pensioners Welfare has notified the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 2021 in supersession of the Central Civil Service (Pension) Rules, 1972. Chapter X of the Central Civil Service (Pension) Rules, 2021 deals with the procedure for determination and authorisation of the amounts of pension and gratuity on retirement of a Government servant.

2. The process of authorisation of pension and gratuity involves various activities to be performed by different offices/authorities. Timelines have been prescribed in the Central Civil Service (Pension) Rules, 2021 for completion of each of these activities. The details of the offices/authorities involved, the action to be taken by each of these offices/authorities and the timeline for completing these actions are summarised below:

1. Preparation of list of Government servants due for retirement– As per Rule 54, every Head of Department (HOD) is required to have a list prepared by 15th day of every month, of all Government servants who are due to retire within the next fifteen months of that date.
2. Intimation to the Directorate of Estates regarding issue of “No Demand Certificate’– As per Rule 55, complete details regarding the Government accommodation are required to be obtained from the Government servant at least one year before retirement and send these details, within 10 days to the Directorate of Estates for issuing a “No demand certificate’ in respect of the period preceding eight months of the retirement of the Government servant. If the Government servant is/was not in occupation of any residential accommodation, HOO shall issue the ‘No Demand Certificate’ on the basis of a declaration from the Government servant in this regard and after verification of the records and no separate ‘No Demand Certificate’ from the Directorate of Estates shall be necessary in such cases.
3. Preparation for processing of pension case– Elaborate procedure has been laid down in Rules 56 and 57 for preparatory work for processing of pension case on superannuation during the period of one year before retirement. This includes verification of service, making good the omissions, imperfections or deficiencies in the service book. In order to ensure that the emoluments during the last ten months of service have been correctly shown in the service book, the Head of Office shall verify the correctness of emoluments only for the period of twenty-four months preceding the date of retirement of a Government servant, and not for any period prior to that date. At least, eight months prior to the date of retirement of the Government servant, the HOO shall furnish to the retiring Government servant a certificate regarding the length of qualifying service and the emoluments/average emoluments to be reckoned for retirement gratuity and pension and advise the retiring Government servant to submit/fill the required pension Forms.
   The Government servant shall submit the completed Forms not later than six months prior to his date of retirement.
4. Completion of pension case.-Detailed procedure for completion of pension papers (i.e. Form 7) by the HOO has been laid down in Rule 59 and 60. The HOO is required to send the pension case to the Pay & Accounts Office with a covering letter in Format 10, within two months from the date of receipt of pension forms from the Government servant.
5. Authorisation of pension and gratuity by the Accounts Officer– On receipt of pension case the Accounts Officer shall apply the requisite checks and issue the pension payment order not later than two months in advance of the date of the retirement of a Government servant on attaining the age of superannuation. The Accounts Officer shall indicate in the PPO, the name of the spouse of the Government servant, if alive, as family pensioner. The names of the permanently disabled child or children and dependent parents and disabled siblings Accounts Officer shall also be indicated in the PPO, the as family pensioners, if there is no other member of family to whom family pension may become payable before such disabled child or children or dependent parents or disabled siblings.
6. Issue of Special Seal of Authority and disbursement of pension– The Accounts Officer shall forward a copy of the Pension Payment Order to the Central Pension Accounting Office, within two months from the date of receipt of pension papers from the HOO. The CPAO shall issue the Special Seal of Authority and forward the same to the Pension Disbursing Authority along with the copy of the Pension Payment Order within twenty one days from the date of receipt of the Pension Payment Order.  The Pension Disbursing Authority shall thereafter take action to disburse the pension to the retired Government servant on the date on which it becomes due.

3. All Ministries/Departments are requested that the above provisions regarding timelines for processing of a pension under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 2021 may be brought to the notice of the personnel dealing with the pensionary benefits in the Ministry/Department and attached/subordinate offices thereunder, for strict implementation.

(अशोक कुमार सिंह)
अवर सचिव, भारत सरकार
फोन: 23310108

To
All Ministries/Departments/Organisations (As per standard list).