Pension rules to apply on marriages post 60
Government officials can marry and adopt children after retirement without running the risk of leaving them behind without a steady source of income.
Government officials can marry and adopt children after retirement without running the risk of leaving them behind without a steady source of income.
The government last week overhauled pension rules that will now recognise marriage and adoption by government officials well after they have retired.
The change — part of an exercise to keep the rule book for premier All India Services in tune with the changing times — has redefined the concept of a family for pensioner benefits and removed an earlier bar on recognising marriage and adoption after retirement.
“The new provisions are non-discriminatory... they do not differentiate if the marriage, or adoption took place before retirement or later,” a government official said.
Life expectancy in the country has risen from 59 years in 1991 — when this provision was last amended — to 65 years in 2011. It was in this context that the Sixth Pay Commission had recommended higher pension to officials and their family once they cross 80 years.
Officials said the new rule would also benefit officers who make a mid-career switch and quit the government much before turning 60.