Now even a daughter of a deceased employee or pensioner would be entitled to family pension even if she had not divorced but filed a petition for the same during the lifetime of her deceased parent, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Saturday. The Minister said this at a press briefing on some important reforms effected by the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare.
Mentioning that the rules have been relaxed for such women to receive family pension, Singh said the earlier rule provided for payment of family pension to a divorced daughter only if the divorce had taken place during the lifetime of the deceased pensioner or his spouse. “The new circular will not only ease the lives of pension beneficiaries but also ensure respectable and equitable rights for divorced daughters in society.” Orders have also been issued for the grant of family pension to a ‘divyang’ child or sibling even if the Disability Certificate was produced after the death of the pensioner-parent but the disability had occurred before the death, Singh said.
Similarly, to provide relief to ‘divyang’ pensioners, the Minister said, the attendant allowance for helper has been increased from Rs 4,500 to Rs 6,700 per month.