Railways issues extraordinary pension rules; up to 100% pay for families in specified duty-linked deaths
New Delhi, Sep 22 (UNI) The Centre has notified a new extraordinary pension framework for railway employees, providing family pension equal to 100 per cent of pay in specific cases of death linked to violent incidents, disasters, terrorist or extremist attacks and certain war-like situations, while fixing the minimum disability and family pension under the rules at Rs 18,000 a month.
The Railway Service (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 2026, notified by the Ministry of Railways have come into force from the date of their publication. The rules apply to railway servants covered by the Railway Service (Pension) Rules, 2026, while specified benefits are also available for employees covered under the National Pension System, subject to the prescribed option and conditions. A key change under the rules is that a railway employee or the family will not be required to submit a separate application for sanction of disability pension or family pension under the extraordinary pension framework. Instead, the Head of Office will be responsible for examining every case of disability or death arising from an injury or disease, based on the Medical Board's findings, and initiating necessary action to place the case before the competent authority within three months of receiving the medical report. A claim cannot be rejected merely because of a delay by the Head of Office in processing the case. The rules classify service-linked death and disability cases into different categories according to the circumstances in which they occur. For deaths falling under Category Kha, family pension will be payable at 60% of the employee's pay.
For cases under Categories Ga and Gha, family pension will be equal to 100% of pay. The family pension payable under the extraordinary pension rules cannot be less than Rs18,000 per month. Category Kha covers specified deaths or disabilities attributable to or aggravated by railway service, including diseases caused by adverse working environments or occupational hazards and certain accidents while on duty. Category Ga includes specified deaths or disabilities arising from violent acts such as bomb blasts or indiscriminate firing in public places, violence by fellow railway servants, riots, natural disasters, extreme weather events, and incidents during rescue operations.
Category Gha covers specified circumstances including attacks on railway servants by terrorists, extremists or anti-social elements; action against such elements; enemy action during international war, border engagements or war-like situations; and certain other high-risk operational circumstances. For railway employees discharged from service because of disability falling under Categories Kha, Ga or Gha, disability pension will comprise a service element and a disability element. The service element will be equivalent to normal pension at 50% of emoluments or average emoluments, whichever is more beneficial to the railway employee. The rules specify that there will be no minimum qualifying-service requirement for earning the service or disability element where the benefit is otherwise admissible.
The total disability pension under the rules cannot be less than Rs18,000 a month. For 100% disability, the disability element in the specified categories is calculated at 30% of emoluments or average emoluments, whichever is more beneficial, in addition to the service element, with proportionate adjustment for a lower percentage of disability. The rules also provide for broad-banding of disability for calculating the disability element. A disability assessed at up to 50% will be reckoned as 50%, one assessed at more than 50% and up to 75% as 75%, and disability assessed at more than 75% and up to 100% as 100%. The broad-banding benefit, however, will not apply to railway employees who are retained in service despite their disability. A railway employee or the family can appeal against the Medical Board's findings.
The findings are required to be communicated within one month of receipt of the medical report, and an appeal can be filed within one month from the date on which the findings are communicated, subject to the conditions prescribed in the rules. A pensioner eligible for disability pension for 100% disability may also receive a constant attendant allowance if the Medical Board finds that the person is completely dependent on others for day-to-day activities and requires the services of a constant attendant. The allowance will be payable for life, at the rate determined by the government from time to time, in addition to monthly disability pension. However, no dearness relief will be payable on the attendant allowance.
For family pension, the rules prescribe an order of eligibility covering the widow or widower, dependent children including adopted and stepchildren, parents including adoptive parents, and dependent siblings, subject to the detailed eligibility conditions laid down in the notification. In a significant procedural reform, the rules mandate that all extraordinary pension cases must be processed online through the Human Resource Management System (HRMS) or the Integrated Pay and Accounting System, unless specifically exempted by the Ministry. For organisations or units not yet covered under these systems, physical files may still be processed manually, but the thrust of the new framework is toward end-to-end digital tracking of claims from the Medical Board stage to the issuance of the pension payment order.
Moreover, the new rules thus establish a graded extraordinary pension framework, linking benefits to the circumstances and degree of service connection behind an employee's disability or death, while providing enhanced financial protection in specified high-risk and duty-related cases.
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