Guidelines to Streamline Pension Payment Issued; Banks Advised to Formulate Pension Friendly Measures

Guidelines regarding dealing with pension related matters have been issued by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) vide their circular dated 1.10.2008. These guidelines, inter-alia, stipulate that to streamline pension payment arranged in banks, it would be necessary to establish and operationalise the Central Pension Processing Centers (CPPCs) at an early date. The arrangement of disbursement of pension through the CPPCs would entail following advantages:

A centralized pension cell in a bank would be in a position to; (a) focus exclusively on pension matters; (b) acquire expertise in payment and calculation matters; (c) interact as a single window with the Government Departments; and (d) ensure accuracy and speedy payments every month and thus avoid innumerable complaints from the pensioner.

Further banks have also been advised to formulate following pensioner friendly measures:-

(i)    Consequent on establishment of the CPPCs, pension payment branch would not have any pension related papers and therefore would not be able to settle pensioners’ complaint directly. Banks should evolve a system so that the pensioners have a regular forum for interaction and settlement of grievances;

(ii)    At locations outside the CPPC there should be designated nodal Officers for pension related complaints who should be easily accessible to the pensioners and who should hold regular meetings at different locations in their jurisdiction on the lines of Pension Adalat:

(iii)    Each bank should establish a toll-fee dedicated pension-line manned by trained persons with access to the database to answer queries, note-down and redress complaints, etc;

(iv)    Bank’s internal inspections of its branches should include specific points such as, delays in the start of pension, payments of Dearness Relief, correctness of pension/ family pension etc;

(v)    Nodal Officer/ Inspection Officers should randomly contact the pensioners who visit the branch during inspection and check on the quality of service provided or any problem faced by the pensioners;

(vi)    Regular training sessions for bank personal dealing with pension maters may be organized in consultation with the concerned Government Department.

Further, the Government advises all Public Sector Banks to attend to the issues concerning pensioners on priority. As and when any grievance of a pensioner is received, the matter is taken up with the concerned bank for expeditious and effective redressal of the same.

   This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance Shri Namo Narain Meena in a written reply to a question raised in Rajya Sabha today.

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