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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Status of Special Family Pension on remarriage for pre-1996 cases : need to educate

Special Family Pension (SFP) is granted to families of deceased personnel when the death is declared either attributable to, or aggravated by military service.

According to earlier provisions, SFP used to be discontinued on re-marriage of a widow, except when the marriage was with the deceased husband’s brother. However this condition was abrogated with effect from 01-01-1996 when it was provided that SFP shall continue on re-marriage irrespective of the person with whom the marriage is solemnised. But the new stipulation was only made applicable to post-1996 cases.

However later, in 2009, the Government of India extended the new provision to pre-1996 cases also and as on date, all widows, irrespective of the date of the death of their husbands, are entitled to receive SFP. This needs to be disseminated to the affected cases since even today many widows who had re-married continue to remain without pension because of the lack of publicity of the new Govt of India letter.

With effect from 1-1-2006, even ordinary family pension is allowed to continue on re-marriage.

Ideally, the MoD / AG’s Branch should publish such issues in all national papers or should direct all record offices to inform affected cases whenever such a letter with retrospective application is issued since there is just no manner otherwise to inform pensioners of newly introduced provisions. It may be a tedious process for the record offices to undertake, but there is no other way.

15 comments:

Muthukrishnan said...

Thank u very much for a valuable information. Can you kindly give more information about the eligibility of ordinary family pension to a remarried widow prior to 1.1.2006.

Vasundhra said...

What I have to add is majority of Officers & PBORs killed in action are married and get killed in a very junior rank. Prorata the percentage of senior level is insgnificant. Many such personnel leave behind small children in the laps of the widowed mothers. It will be pertinent to think in the direction of granting special pension of the minimum assured rank the individual would otherwise have retired in if would have stayed alive. Beside moral booster it will ensure the decent upbringing of the orphaned family

Anonymous said...

@ vasundhara
Although a sensible suggestion, Only a miniscule TOP AIS cadre personnel are cleared by the government for such dispensations to the surviving family.
The others are simply ineligible.

Sgt.S.Kanthiah said...

a very valuable information, thank you sir for bringing the news. Please let us know the actual order or circular no. so that we can inform the effected family pensioners to apply for.

Anonymous said...

I support the views expressed by vasundhara on 31 Aug 2010.
Family pension need to be granted to spouse , assuming that the soldier (killed in any action )has completed full length of possible service. In fact the spouse need to be paid full pay & allces for the entire service period that the deceased would have otherwise served,if alive and subsequently the pension.

Anonymous said...

State must do it's duty .
Such orders must be published in all possible newspapers and disseminated on some news channels to educate the affected spouses.
Also it is the duty of all records offices and Pension disbursing officers to educate the affected people.
May all of us feel responsible to each other.

SATTY'S CORNER said...

What Vasundra has said is absolutely right.A deceased soldier's family must be paid salary upto the age had he been alive so that they can have a decent living.
If such a thing can be given to a IAS person killed in Kabul blast why can't it be given to soldiers who shed blood for the motherland.

Vasundhra said...

Kabul Blast.Two Officers get killed in the same vehicle by bomb blast, both of the all India Services, both serving in the same Diplomatic mission both governed by the same body of pay commission yet after their demise their bereaved families are treated with different set of rules Pertinency and due to ignorance of rules many issues arises.Do non- officer cadre of IFS/IAS get the same! or was it a one time exception? Will this one time exceptions will be subject to repetitions?If it was one time exception why it was not granted to the Brig, it is a open secret that it was Him who was the ISI tgt,what ever be the reasons.If Kabul was not an exception then it is a subject to precedence for the rule/rules to be made applicable to all who get killed in action(KIA)

Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh said...

@Vasundhra

Let us get this straight.

The entitlements of families of All India Service Officers, Foreign Service Officers, Military Officers and for that matter all central govt employees are roughly the same. The wife of the Brig shall get what the wife of the IFS officer got due to the Kabul blast. It would amount to spreading disinformation if we say that the family pension of the Brig would not be calculated on the same terms as the family of the IFS officer and this rumour has been unnecessarily spread by some ESM organisations and other people who do not have much insight into the subject. The liberalised family pensionary awards are equally applicable to both families.

Col NR Kurup said...

It is a pity that our media give no attention in publishing such information nor the CDA(P) or government make any effort to give adequate publicity. Even I was not aware of it.

Anonymous said...

All govt officers whether in defence or otherwise,who happen to die while performing duties,must be paid , as if they were alive , till the date of superannuation and thereafter usual retirement benefits.
YES, by all means, the NATION ,ough to honour the families of soldiers
(who happen to die while on duty)by
extending very special facilities like inviting them for state functions,free education to wards,free air/rail travel within the country etc.They need to be treated in a manner that others get
motivated to join the FORCES.

Anonymous said...

Something unrelated
The Gazette Notification of SPC states that " 'Special Duty Allowance' is authorised for All Central Govt Employees." Why are defence forces personnel not getting it??

Anonymous said...

Sir,
I maarried to a widow of an army person. She got job on die-in-heirness. Before our marriage she got SPF. Whether she has the right again to recieve her SFP? She has a Girl child of 13 years solemnly under her protection.Pl. give the answer at the earliest.
sasikumaran.N

Anonymous said...

Respected sir/madam

My name is smt Valluri Kamala, wife of Late Ex sep Valluri Appa Rao, Ex No 6814686/ AMC

received letter No 681468/Pen/FP/15 on 10 Dec 2015 mensioning grant of family pension

vide PPO No D/SE/C0296/1983 , by receiving necessary documents of my husband's demise on 5 Jan 2015. I am waiting for my family pension orders till today. For the last two years

i am facing many financial problems to survive. initiate into the matter and show solution to me pl

Unknown said...

Sir I want to know if any army man have suicide on duty and his widow wife want new marriage with any person than she can take family panson