In a pivotal move designed to have significant socio-economic outcomes, the Central government has amended regulations, allowing women government employees to nominate their children over their husbands for family pensions, according to an official release issued on Monday.
Earlier, the family pension was assigned to the spouse of a deceased government servant or pensioner, and only in the event of the spouse's demise or ineligibility did other family members become qualified.
Union Minister of State for Personnel, Jitendra Singh, explained that the Department of Pensions and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) amended the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 2021. The alteration enables female government workers or pensioners to allocate family pension to their eligible children posthumously, superseding their spouse.
The change is designed to address complications arising from matrimonial disputes leading to divorce or legal actions under statutes like the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, Dowry Prohibition Act, or the Indian Penal Code, the Minister added.
“It is a groundbreaking resolution constituting an essential part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy towards women's equitable rights. The government's amendment empowers a woman employee to designate her child as the recipient of family pension, deviating from the existing spousal norm,” the Personnel Ministry's statement said.
The amendment, according to Singh, is in congruence with PM Modi's policy of ensuring justice and legitimate rights to female functionaries across all sectors.
The DoPPW stated that the concerned female government servants or pensioners should submit a written request to the concerned head of the office for their child/children to receive precedence for the family pension over their spouses.
After a female government servant or pensioner's death, the family pension is to be distributed to the designated child/children. If she leaves behind a widower and an ineligible child, the family pension would be paid to the widower.
However, in situations where the widower is the guardian of a minor or a child with a mental disorder, the widower would receive the family pension until their ward becomes an adult. Once attaining maturity, if the child remains eligible, the family pension would be directed to the child.
This regulation would also apply if the deceased female government servant or pensioner is survived by a widower and children who are adults but still eligible for the family pension.
Singh emphasized that these reforms are part of a series introduced under the current Prime Minister to create a nurturing environment for working women. Measures have also been initiated to increase women's representation in central government positions and to help them strike a balance between their professional and family lives.
With inputs from PTI