Grievance: Pension Declaration Anomalies – Direct Financial Loss.
Sanjeev Goyal
PMOPG/E/2026/0004833
Concerned Department: The Department of Pension.
Recently, while examining a specific case, I reviewed the pensioner life certificate format available on the State Bank of India (SBI) website. It was observed that the so-called “life certificate” is, in effect, a declaration of non-employment and non-marriage. It is understood that this form is obtained annually from all pensioners, including family pensioners.
It is pertinent to note that a service pensioner is entitled to lifelong pension without any income criterion, whereas in the case of a family pensioner, eligibility is subject to fulfilling dependency conditions i.e. monthly income limit. Just declaring non-employment is grossly inadequate to establish dependency, as income is not confined to employment alone. It may accrue from business, rental income, interest, dividends, or other sources. Accordingly, the existing certificate does not serve its intended purpose in the case of family pensioners.
Further, while the non-marriage declaration is required to be submitted on a half-yearly basis, the current form is obtained annually, creating inconsistency in compliance requirements.
Additionally, even where a separate income certificate is sought, there is no requirement for verification or submission of any supporting documents. In contrast, the Income Tax Department now generates a comprehensive Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS), which captures details about major sources of income. Requiring family pensioners to submit copies of the TIS for the last two financial years would provide a far more reliable basis for determining eligibility and promote transparency. Moreover, pension disbursing authorities should be authorized to directly access and verify such information from the Incoem Tax Department’s website to ensure the authenticity of claims. Accepting low-income declarations solely on face value defeats the purpose of eligibility verification.
SBI, being the largest pension disbursing bank for the Government of India and handling a substantial financial outlay, is expected to follow robust and well-defined procedures. The existence of such large-scale anomalies in the system is therefore a matter of serious concern.
On reviewing the Pensioners’ Portal (pensionersportal.gov.in/Forms/Declerationforms/mdeclar.aspx), the following nine forms were found to be prescribed:
1. Details of Family
2. Undertaking by Government servants who have worked in Intelligence or Security-related organizations
3. Certificate of Verification of Service for Pension and Gratuity
4. Undertaking for refund of excess payment by the bank
5. Life Certificate to be submitted by pensioner
6. Non-employment/Re-employment Certificate (retired Group ‘A’ officers)
7. Certificate of re-marriage/marriage to be submitted regularly by family pensioners
8. Declaration by former Members of Parliament for drawal of pension
9. Certificate of expenditure by former President/Vice-President
It is noteworthy that there is no prescribed format for declaring income, nor is there any list of annexures required to substantiate income-related claims.
In view of the above, and given the fact that pension is a substantial burden on exchequer, it is respectfully requested that:
1. A comprehensive and consolidated form covering life certificate, remarriage status, and income declaration may be devised to plug existing loopholes,
2. A system audit may be conducted to examine the process of obtaining declarations, the correctness of prescribed forms, and the accuracy of information collected by all pension-paying banks.
3. Submission of the Income Tax Department’s TIS along with the income declaration may be made mandatory for family pensioners.
These measures would significantly enhance transparency, accountability, and financial prudence in the pension disbursement system.
