Central government clarifies eligibility rules for family pension

The government has provided clarification regarding who is eligible to receive a family pension following the death of a Central Government employee or pensioner. The memorandum specifies when children become eligible and under what circumstances dependent parents and siblings can receive the family pension.

According to the rules, the family pension will not be paid to all family members simultaneously. Generally, the legally wedded surviving spouse is the first person entitled to receive the family pension. This includes a spouse who becomes eligible through marriage after retirement, subject to the conditions prescribed under Rule 50 of the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 2021.

The office memorandum states that adopted or step-children are also eligible for the family pension. However, they become eligible only if the surviving spouse of the deceased employee dies or if the pension payable to the spouse ceases. These rules also apply to children born after the death or retirement of government employees or pensioners.

Eligible children are primarily divided into three categories, and their eligibility is examined in a prescribed order. The first category includes children up to 25 years of age. Children in this category become eligible according to their order of birth. Their eligibility ceases upon attaining 25 years of age, marriage, or gaining a livelihood, whichever is earlier.

If there is no eligible child in the first category or if all children have become ineligible, children with physical or mental disabilities become eligible under the second category according to their order of birth. They can receive the family pension until they start earning a livelihood. In their case, marriage does not affect eligibility.

In the absence or ineligibility of all children in both the first and second categories, unmarried, widowed, and divorced daughters become eligible under the third category according to their order of birth. The condition for this is that they were dependent on their parents while the parents were alive and were not earning a livelihood at the time the family pension became payable. Their eligibility continues until marriage, remarriage, or gaining a livelihood, whichever is earlier.

In the case of a female government employee or pensioner, if there are marital disputes, she may nominate her children to receive the family pension, subject to compliance with prescribed conditions. In the event of judicial separation, the family pension is paid to eligible children first. The separated spouse may be paid the pension only after the eligibility of the children ceases.

In specific circumstances, a widow may receive the family pension along with eligible children of another deceased wife. According to Rules 50(8)(e) to (g) of the pension rules, this provision allows the payment of pension to a surviving widow along with eligible children from another deceased wife, a divorced wife, or a void or voidable marriage. This provision covers specific family circumstances and is subject to the conditions prescribed under the pension rules.