Option to avail benefits under Old Pension Scheme on death of Railway servant during service or his discharge from Railway service on account of invalidation or disability for Railway Servants covered under Unified Pension Scheme: Railway Board Order RBE No. 76/2025 dated 29.07.2025 with Form-1 and Form-2
RBE No. 76/2025
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA (BHARAT SARKAR)
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (RAIL MANTRALAYA)
(RAILWAY BOARD)
No. F(E)IN/2025/UPS/1
New Delhi, dated: 29 .07.2025.
The General Managers/Principal Financial Advisors,
All Zonal Railways/Production Units etc,
DGs of RDSO and NAIR.
Subject:- Option to avail benefits under Old Pension Scheme on death of Railway servant during service or his discharge from Railway service on account of invalidation or disability for Railway Servants covered under Unified Pension Scheme – reg.
Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services vide Notification No. FX-1/3/2024-PR dated 24th January, 2025 has introduced Unified Pension Scheme as an option under National Pension System for the recruits to the Central Government civil services with effect from 01.04.2025 giving one time option to the Central Government employees covered under the National Pension System (NPS) for inclusion under the Unified Pension Scheme(UPS). The same has been adopted on Railways vide Board’s letter of even number dated 18.03.2025.
2. UPS has been notified as an option under the NPS. Therefore, it has been decided that the Railway employees who opt for UPS under NPS shail also be eligible for option for availing benefits under UPS or the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993 or the Railway Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1993 in the event of death of the Railway servant during service or his discharge on the ground of invalidation or disablement.
3. Every Railway servant covered under the National Pension System who opts for Unified Pension Scheme shall, at the time of joining railway service, exercise an option in Form 1 for availing benefits under the UPS or under the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993 or the Railway Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1993 in the event of his/her death or boarding out on account of disablement or retirement on invalidation. Existing Railway Servants, who have opted for the Unified Pension Scheme under the National Pension System, shall also exercise such option as soon as possible after the notification of these clarifications.
4. The option shall be exercised to the Head of Office who will accept the same after verifying all the facts submitted therein and place it in the service book. A copy of the option shall be forwarded by the Head of Office to the Central Recordkeeping Agency through the Drawing and Disbursing Officer and the Pay and Accounts Officer for their record. The Pay and Accounts Officer shall also make suitable entry in the online system indicating the details regarding the option exercised by the Railway servant.
5. Every Railway servant shall, along with the option in Form 1, also submit details of family in Form 2 to the Head of Office. The Head of Office shall, on receipt of the Form 2, acknowledge receipt of the Form 2 and all further communications received from the Railway servant in this behalf, countersign it indicating the date of receipt and get it pasted on the service book of the Railway servant concerned, The Head of Office on receipt of communication from the Railway servant regarding any change in the size of family shall also incorporate such a change in Form 2.
6. The option exercised may be revised at any number of times by the Railway servant before his retirement by making a fresh option intimating his revised option to the Head of Office. On receipt of the revised option, the Head of Office and the Pay and Accounts Officer shall take further action as mentioned above.
7. A Railway servant who is discharged on invalidation or disability shall be given an opportunity to submit a fresh option at the time of such discharge. Where such Railway servant does not exercise a fresh option or is not in a position to exercise fresh option at the time of discharge, the option already exercised by the Railway servant shall become operative. Where no option was exercised by the Railway servant and the Railway servant is not in a position to exercise an option at the time of discharge, his case will be regulated in accordance with para 10 below.
8. In the case of death of a Railway servant while in service, the last option exercised by the deceased Railway servant before his death shall be treated as final and the family shall have no right to revise the option.
9. Where a Railway servant who did not exercise an option and dies before completion of service of fifteen years, his family will be granted family pension in accordance with the provisions of the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993 or the Railway Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1993, as the case may be, as a default option.
10. Where a Railway servant is discharged from Railway service on account of invalidation or disability before completion of service of fifteen years without exercising an option, and is also not in a position to exercise an option at the time of discharge, he will be granted invalid pension or disability pension in accordance with the provisions of the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993 or the Railway Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1993 as the case may be, as default option;
11. In all other cases, where no option was exercised by the Railway servant, the claim of the Railway servant on discharge from the service and that of the family on death of the Railway servant shall be regulated in accordance with the regulations to be framed in this regard.
12. In cases where the option exercised by the deceased Subscriber or the default option for benefit under the Railway Services (Pension) Rules or the Railway Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules becomes infructuous on account of non-availability of an eligible member of the family for grant of family pension under the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993 or the Railway Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules,1993 such option would be deemed to have become invalid and the benefits admissible under the Unified Pension Scheme shall be granted in accordance with the regulations to be framed in this regard.
13. A Railway servant, who had exercised option or in whose case the default option is for availing benefits under the Railway Services (Pension) Rules,1993 or Railway Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1993 on death of Railway servant during service or his discharge from service on account of invalidation or disablement, as the case may be, further action will be taken by the Head of Office for disbursement of benefits in accordance with the provisions of the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993. Where the death or disablement of the Railway servant is attributable to Railway service, further action will be taken by the Head of Office for disbursement of benefits in accordance with the Railway Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1993 subject to fulfillment of all the conditions for grant of benefits under those rules.
14. If on death of the Railway servant during service or his discharge from service on account of invalidation or disablement, benefits are payable under the Railway Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1993 or the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993, the Government contribution and returns thereon in the accumulated pension corpus of the Railway servant shall be transferred to Government account. The remaining accumulated pension corpus shall be paid in lump sum in accordance with the regulations to be framed in this regard.
15. In the case of death of a Railway servant during service or his discharge from service on account of invalidation or disablement, who had exercised option or in whose case the default option is for availing benefits under the UPS, such benefits may be granted in accordance with the regulations to be framed in this regard.
16. Copy of Form1 and Form 2 are also enclosed.
(G. Priya Sudarsani)
Director, Finance (Estt.)
Railway Board
COMMENTS