SRINAGAR: Union Minister for Pensions Jitendra Singh has announced a significant reform allowing childless widows to remarry while continuing to receive their deceased husband’s pension or family pension, provided their income from other sources remains below the pension amount.
Speaking at the 34th meeting of the Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies (SCOVA), Singh highlighted the government’s commitment to introducing progressive reforms in service rules, particularly for women. He criticised previous administrations for maintaining a “status quoist approach” and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s support for enabling these changes.
Singh also detailed other pension-related reforms, including provisions for divorced or separated daughters to claim family pensions without waiting for court verdicts and new rules allowing female pensioners to nominate their children for pensions over their husbands in cases of marital discord or domestic violence.
The government has also focused on digital solutions for pensioners, with the Jeevan Pramaan Digital Life Certificate now featuring face authentication technology. In a nationwide campaign in November 2024, 1.5 crore life certificates were generated, with 8 lakh submitted by senior citizens aged 80 and above.
Additionally, the Bhavishya portal now integrates pension processing with health schemes such as CGHS, ensuring timely issuance of health cards for retirees. The Integrated Pensioners’ Portal has been linked with major banks like SBI, PNB, and Canara Bank for seamless disbursals.
Singh praised the Pension Adalat initiative, which has resolved over 70 per cent of grievances across 12 editions since 2017, and the CPENGRAMS system, which has handled over one lakh pension-related complaints, with a focus on Defence pensioners.
The SCOVA meeting, attended by senior officials and pensioners’ association representatives, also reviewed the National Anubhav Awards and pre-retirement counselling workshops, which have guided over 10,000 retiring personnel on financial security and post-retirement opportunities.
