Centre Introduces New Guidelines for Pension and Gratuity: PPO to Be Issued Before Retirement

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The central government has introduced new guidelines concerning pension and gratuity for retiring government employees. Under these guidelines, the Pension Payment Order (PPO) must be issued at least two months prior to an employee's retirement date. This initiative, led by the Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare (DoPPW), aims to ensure that employees receive their pension and gratuity without any delays as they approach retirement.

The directives, issued on October 25, 2024, emphasize the importance of a timely process from the preparation of the retirement list to the issuance of the PPO. The DoPPW has established specific timelines to streamline this process, thereby assisting retiring employees in securing their benefits efficiently. The aim is to alleviate any concerns retirees may have regarding the timely receipt of their pension and gratuity.

To facilitate this, a list of all employees set to retire within the next 15 months must be compiled by the 15th of each month. This proactive approach will help quickly identify personnel nearing retirement, enabling faster processing of their pension and gratuity claims. According to Rule 54, every Head of Department (HOD) is responsible for generating this list. Once the pension case is forwarded to the Accounts Officer, necessary investigations will be conducted, and the PPO will be issued in accordance with the new timeline. All ministries and departments are mandated to adhere to these guidelines and ensure their employees are well-informed about the deadlines.