LAHORE: The Punjab Finance Department has implemented the amended version of the Punjab Civil Service Pension Rules, ensuring immediate payment of 65 percent pension to employees after retirement and this amount would continue to be paid until the complete pension documents were not prepared.

In a notification issued on Wednesday, the department stated that the Punjab governor has given his consent to implement the amendment to the Punjab Civil Services Pension Rules with immediate effect. On June 2, in its meeting, the Punjab Cabinet approved the amendment in the Rules to ease the process of pension for employees nearing the age of retirement.

As per the notification, Rule 6.1 of the Punjab Civil Services Pension Rules has been amended as “when a government servant is likely to retire before his pension can be finally accessed and sanctioned in accordance with the rules, accounts offices are authorised to make anticipatory monthly pension at 65 percent of basic pay as per his last pay drawn and having a length of qualifying service available as per accounts offices’ record for a period of one year.”

It noted that after the expiry of the stipulated period of one year, the anticipatory pension allowed to such a retiree shall be discontinued and the Pension Sanctioning Authority shall be responsible to complete pension papers of such retiree within six months from the date of retirement.

It may be mentioned that prior to the amendment, when a government servant was likely to retire before his pension could be finally assessed and sanctioned in accordance with the rules, the authority competent could sanction pension an anticipatory pension equal to the full pension as calculated by pension sanctioning authority.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023