Now, divorced daughter of Armed Forces personnel to get family pension

New Delhi, November 27,
2017: Now, divorced daughter of armed forces personnel will get family pension even
if divorce is filed in lifetime of either parents.

“As per Ministry of
Defence (MoD) letter of September 2015, presently only those children who are
dependent and meet other conditions of eligibility for family pension at the
time of death of the Government servant or his/her spouse, whichever is later,
are eligible for family pension. Accordingly, divorced daughters who fulfil
other conditions are eligible for family pension if a decree of divorce had
been issued by the competent court during the life time of at least one of the
parents,” said Ministry of Defence release.

Decision to this effect
was taken after the Government received grievances from various quarters that
the divorce proceedings are a long drawn procedure which take many years before
attaining finality.

There are many cases in
which the divorce proceedings of a daughter of a Government employee/pensioner
had been instituted in the competent court during the life time of one or both
but none was alive by the time the decree of divorce was granted by the
competent authority.

“The matter has been examined
and it has been decided vide Ministry of Defence letter dated 17 November 2017
to grant family pension to a divorced daughter of Armed Forces personnel in
such cases where the divorce proceedings has been filed in a competent court
during the life time of the employee/pensioner or his/her spouse but divorce
took place after their death – provided that the claimant fulfils all other
conditions for grant of family pension. In such cases, the family pension will
commence from the date of divorce,” it said.