Pension Payment Rule: If you are a retired government employee, then there is good news for you. If your pension or its arrears are not received on time, then now the concerned bank will have to bear the brunt of it. The Reserve Bank (RBI) has said in a circular that in case of delay in getting a pension, the bank paying the pension will have to pay interest at the rate of 8% per annum on the due amount from the due date to the government pensioners.

The central bank directed the banks to automatically transfer the pension and arrears and pensioners should not be asked to claim compensation. RBI was constantly receiving complaints in this regard that pensioners are not getting revised pension and arrears on time. Keeping this in mind, this new rule has been implemented.

Pension and interest money will be deposited in the account on the same day.

According to the circular, pensioners will not need to make any claim for this compensation. On the day banks deposit pension or pension dues in the account, they will have to deposit the interest amount on the same day. This new rule of RBI will apply to all delayed pension payments from 1 October 2008. The good thing is that pensioners will not need to claim the interest amount separately.

RBI has also advised the pension-paying banks to prepare a mechanism to immediately obtain a copy of pension orders from the pension-paying officers so that pensioners can get the benefit of this rule in the next month's pension payment.

RBI has made special arrangements for the convenience of old pensioners

RBI has also asked banks to provide better customer service. Banks have been advised to treat pensioners, especially old pensioners, with sympathy and provide them with good customer service. If a pensioner cannot come to the bank or cannot sign, then his thumb or foot impression can be taken in the presence of two witnesses, one of whom should be a bank officer.

A digital life certificate is also valid for pensioners above 70 years of age

Banks will have to provide the facility of depositing life certificates at home for pensioners above 70 years of age so that they do not need to come to the bank. A digital life certificate will also be considered valid so that there will be no need to go to the bank and stand in line. Also, banks have been asked to put all these guidelines on the notice board, so that needy pensioners can take advantage of it.

Many pensioners were complaining about not getting money on time, due to which RBI has taken this decision. Now it seems that banks will fulfill their responsibility of pension payment seriously or else they will have to bear the brunt of negligence.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from NDTV India. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.