RBI tells banks to continue joint account for surviving spouse's pension

Mumbai, Apr 1, 2025

Spouse entitled for family pension must be survivor

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said the joint account in banks can be continued after the death of a central government pensioner if the spouse, who is authorised to receive family pension, is the survivor.

Banks should not insist on opening a new account in the case of a central government pensioner, and the family pension should be credited to the existing account, the RBI said in its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Payment of Pension to Government Pensioners.

Referring to the acknowledgement of life certificates, the RBI said there have been complaints about misplacement of life certificates submitted to bank branches, causing delays in the payment of monthly pensions. Banks were asked to mandatorily issue duly signed acknowledgements on receiving life certificates to alleviate the hardships faced by pensioners, it added.

They were also requested to consider entering the receipt of life certificates in the Core Banking System (CBS) and issue a system-generated acknowledgement. This would serve the twin purpose of acknowledgement as well as real-time updation of records. Banks could also provide digital acknowledgements for digital life certificates submitted by the pensioners, the RBI said.

[The Business Standard]