Fix the delay in family pension for widows, says central government pensioners' body; seeks 6 months’ provisional payment

Bharat Pensioner Samaj, a central government pensioner association claiming to have 10 lakh pensioner members, has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to allow eligible widows/widowers to receive provisional family pension, potentially for around six months, while pension-related documentation and regular authorisation are taking place.

The letter, dated September 7, 2026, addressed to the Controller General of Communication Accounts, DoT, said that this practice would substantially reduce the immediate financial hardship of the widows and widowers and would also reduce repeated representations and resulting work pressure on pension office staff.

In how many days is family pension issued under the current provisions?


As per a correspondent of the DoT, the national average processing time for the conversion of family pension to the spouse has been indicated to be less than one month.

Then why do the BPS want six months of provisional family pension for widows?

The BPS, in its letter, says that bereaved family members, particularly widows/widowers, faced certain practical difficulties after the death of a government servant or a pensioner.

“In our country, following the death of a family member, the bereaved family generally observes a mourning period ranging from about 16 days to 30 days, and in certain communities, the customary period may extend even up to three months.

“Consequently, the spouse may not be able to immediately attend to official formalities or arrange the documents required to submit the family pension claim,” says the BPS.

The letter says that the collection of the requisite documents from various revenue authorities and other state government authorities itself may take considerable time.

The BPS highlighted that in some cases, discrepancies may also be noticed in the date of birth or other particulars appearing in Form 3, Aadhaar card, PAN card, bank passbook and other records.

The BPS added that the rectification and the verification of such discrepancies may further require considerable time.

“Thus, in actual practice, the time required merely for the family to collect, verify and submit all the requisite documents may itself extend to several months from the date of death of the government servant/pensioner, even before the time required for the processing and authorisation of family pension by the CCA office is taken into account,” reads the letter.

Provisional pension or family pension is initially granted for a limited period, such as six months. The BPS has also demanded provisional pension for six months.

"Such provisional payment would provide sufficient immediate financial support to the bereaved spouse while the formalities for regular authorisation of family pension are completed," the BPS said in its letter.

In cases where family pension in favour of the spouse is already authorised in the PPO, such a mechanism could also facilitate the early commencement of payment without waiting for the completion of every procedural formality, the BPS suggests to DoT in its letter.

In cases where family pension has not been authorised in the PPO and requires sanction from the Head of Office, the competent sanctioning authority can be advised to examine the applicability of rules and arrange the payment of provisional pension or family pension, says the BPS.