Eligibility of divorced daughters for grant of family pension: DoP&PW’s Important Clarification on Dependent Family Members

Eligibility of divorced daughters for grant of family pension: DoP&PW’s Important Clarification on Dependent Family Members

 G No. 1/13/09-P&PW (E)

Government of India

Ministry of Personnel, P.G. & Pensions

Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare

3rd Floor, Lok Nayak Bhawan,

Khan Market, New Delhi,

19th July, 2017.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

 

Sub: Eligibility of divorced daughters for grant of family pension –
clarification regarding. 

 

Provision for grant of family pension to a widowed/divorced daughter beyond
the age of 25 years has been made vide OM dated 30.08.2004. This provision has been
included in clause (iii) of sub-rule 54 (6) of the CCS (Pension), Rules, 1972. 

2. As indicated in Rule 54(8) of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, the turn of
unmarried children below 25 years of age comes after the death or remarriage of their
mother/father, i.e., the pensioner and his/her spouse. Thereafter, the family pension is payable
to the disabled children for life and then to the unmarried/widowed/divorced daughters
above the age of 25 years. 

3. It was clarified, vide this department Office Memorandum of even number,
dated 11th September, 2013, that the family pension is payable to the children as they
are considered to be dependent on the Government servant/pensioner or his/her spouse. A child
who is not earning equal to or more than the sum of minimum family pension and dearness relief
thereon is considered to be dependent on his/her parents. Therefore, only those
children who are dependent and meet other conditions of eligibility for family pension at the time of
death of the Government servant or his/her spouse, whichever is later, are eligible for
family pension. If two or more children are eligible for family pension at that time, family
pension will be payable to each child on his/her turn provided he/she is still eligible for family
pension when the turn comes. 

4. It was clarified that a daughter if eligible, as explained in the
preceding paragraph, may be granted family pension provided she fulfils all eligibility conditions
at the time of death/ineligibility of her parents and still on the date her turn to
receive family pension comes. Accordingly, divorced daughters who fulfil other conditions are eligible
for family pension if a decree of divorce had been issued by the competent court during the life
time of at least one of the parents. 

5. This department has been receiving grievances from various quarters that
the divorce proceedings are a long drawn procedure which take many years before
attaining finality. There are many cases in which the divorce proceedings of a daughter of a
Government employee/pensioner had been instituted in the competent court during the
life time of one or both of them but none of them was alive by the time the decree of divorce was
granted by the competent authority. 

6. The matter has been examined in this department in consultation with
Department of Expenditure and it has been decided to grant family pension to a divorced
daughter in such cases where the divorce proceedings had been filed in a competent court during
the life-time of the employee/pensioner or his/her spouse but divorce took place after their
death – provided the claimant fulfils all other conditions for grant of family pension under
rule 54 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972. In such cases, the family pension will commence from
the date of divorce. 

7. This issues with the concurrence of Ministry of Finance, Department of
Expenditure, vide their ID No. 1(11)/EV/2017, dated 7th July, 2017. 

(D.K. Solanki)

Under Secretary to the Government of India

Tel. No. 24644632