In a relief for central government pensioners, authorities have been asked by the Centre to expedite pension processing for retirees. It has been observed by the central government that delays in pension processing lead to significant difficulties for retirees. A recent office memorandum highlighted mounting delays in the finalisation of pension cases, impacting retirees across the board.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (Expenditure Coordination Section) under the Ministry of Finance has released the office memorandum directing authorities to strictly follow the timelines set forth in the CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021.

The memo, issued in response to non-compliance with the CCS (Pension) Rules 2021, underscores the critical need for adhering to prescribed timelines to ensure timely pension payments.

The growing backlog is not only inconveniencing pensioners but also prompting calls for immediate corrective measures to align with the mandated deadlines and alleviate undue financial strain on retirees.

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“As per the CCS (Pension) Rules 2021, it is mandatory to process pension cases within the stipulated timelines to ensure timely payment of pensions to retirees,” the memorandum notes.

New rules outline clear steps and deadlines for processing government pensions to avoid delays:

Verification and preparation: Begin verifying service details and other necessary work one year before retirement.

Form Submission: Government employees must submit their pension forms six months before retirement.

Office Review: The Head of the Office must send the pension case to the Pension Accounts Office (PAO) four months before retirement.

Pension Payment Order (PPO): The PAO needs to issue the PPO and forward it to the Central Pension Accounting Office (CPAO) one month before retirement.

Additionally, provisional pensions can be issued if a final pension is not yet processed. To ensure that retirees receive their payments on time, PAOs are instructed to share these timelines with Heads of Offices and ensure strict adherence to avoid delays.

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Timeline for processing pension cases for the central government employees retiring during the year 2024-25:

  1. Date of retirement
  2. Date of submission of documents by pensioner to the Head of the Office (six months before the retirement)
  3. Submission of pension case by Head of the Office to Pension Accounting Offices (not more than 4 months)
  4. Finalisation of pension by Pension Accounting Office and sending the same to Central Pension Accounting Office (1 month before the retirement date).