Now pension money will be paid on time, the Centre has issued new guidelines for the payment of dues to retired employees.:

News Topical, Digital Desk : The central government has issued guidelines for timely payment of retirement dues and pension payments to central civil service employees.

"As per the special provisions under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 2021, no pension can be delayed due to lack of vigilance clearance," the statement said on Tuesday.

No more delays in pension due to lack of vigilance clearance

Every Ministry/Department should ensure that vigilance clearance in respect of retired employees is issued three months before retirement.

Central government issued guidelines

Key policy measures for systemic reform include digitization of service records, future universalization (this system provides online tracking of the pension approval and payment process), appointment of an Inter-Ministerial Monitoring Committee in the Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare (DOPPW) and related ministries, and providing support to pensioners through the appointment of Pension Mitras/Welfare Officers in all departments. Pension Payment Orders (PPOs) should also incorporate e-PPOs, which will further accelerate the digitization process in the pension process.

Bank officials will also be responsible for monitoring.

A strong inter-ministerial monitoring mechanism (OSM) will be introduced to monitor the processes so that the timelines set for each stakeholder are scrupulously adhered to.

The government has decided to establish a High-Level Monitoring Committee (HLOC). This committee will be chaired by the Secretary of Pensions. In addition, nodal officers at the level of Joint Secretary in each ministry and department and officials from the banks disbursing pensions will also be responsible for monitoring.

Monitoring mechanism will be strengthened

The monitoring mechanism will be strengthened by introducing auto-flagging and auto-escalation of cases pending beyond the stipulated time limit through technological upgradation in the future portal, the statement said.

A Welfare Officer or Pension Mitra will be appointed by the Head of the Office to assist each retired employee in filling up the forms and completing other formalities.

The Centre aims to ensure that PPO or e-PPO is issued 60 days before retirement, the dues are received on the next day of retirement and the first pension is credited to the account on the last date of the next month of retirement.

The President of All India NPS Employees Federation said this

Manjeet Singh Patel, President of All India NPS Employees Federation, said that these new guidelines will prove to be very beneficial for the employees and will solve their pending problems.