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Grandchildren are now eligible for pension and gratuity after the death of government employees

Grandchildren are now eligible for pension and gratuity after the death of government employees

When Additional Secretary to the Cabinet Division Sanjida Sobhan passed away, neither her son nor daughter were eligible for pension benefits in the husband’s absence.

To determine who in her family should receive these benefits, officials have held a series of meetings in recent months.

To enable Sobhan’s grandchildren to receive the remaining pension and gratuity benefits, the Finance Ministry has revised the definition of ‘family’ in the Pension and Retirement Benefit Rules to include the deceased employee’s grandchildren.

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The Ministry of Finance issued a circular about this today (November 10).

Under the revised rules, pension benefits will now be extended to the grandchildren of the deceased employee if a government employee does not have a surviving spouse or children, including those who identify as hijra (third gender).

The benefits are distributed in the same proportion as the children would have received if they were still alive.

If a government employee has not designated a specific pensioner, all family members will share gratuity benefits equally under the new definition. But grandchildren over the age of 18 are not eligible.

Under previous regulations, family pensions are available for a minimum of 15 years. Although the Family Pension Rules, 1959 are mandatory lectureit wasn’t enforced.

As per the revised rules, the married daughters of a deceased son or daughters whose husbands are still alive are not eligible for gratuity.