Reserve Bank of India [Disbursement of Government Pension by Agency Banks (ABs)] Directions, 2026 (Updated as on June 24, 2026)

1. Applies to pension-paying Agency Banks

This rule covers only Agency Banks authorised to pay government pension.

2. Called the 2026 Directions

This rulebook is the 2026 Directions on pension paid by Agency Banks.

3. Effective immediately

The rule started the day RBI issued it.

4. What an Agency Bank is

Agency Banks are public sector, private, payments and small finance banks that RBI appoints under Section 45.

5. What Jeevan Pramaan is

Jeevan Pramaan is a biometric digital life-certificate service for government pensioners.

1. Banks must act on DR

Banks must act quickly on Dearness Relief orders they get by post, fax, email or the government's website.

2. Follow every government order now

Banks must follow every Central and State government order at once, without waiting for RBI.

3. Pension paid on PSA's orders

Banks pay pension only on the orders given by the Pension Sanctioning Authority.

4. Old order relay stopped

RBI no longer forwards Dearness Relief orders to banks; banks must track government websites themselves.

1. Bank errors refunded at once

If a bank's own error overpays a pensioner, the bank must refund the government at once.

2. Board policy on excess recovery

Every bank needs a board-approved policy on recovering wrongly paid pension, with a cut-off period.

3. Government error recoveries need consent

If a government mistake must be recovered from a pensioner's balance, the bank needs the pensioner's written consent first.

4. Doubts go to Government only

If a bank doubts a government instruction, it takes the doubt to that government, not to RBI.

1. Two witnesses for thumb impression

A thumb impression needs two independent witnesses, one of them a bank official.

2. Instructions posted on notice board

Every branch must post these sick-and-disabled-pensioner rules on its notice board.

3. Two pensioner categories for withdrawal

One pensioner category is too ill to sign, but able to give a thumb impression.

1. Link branches file reimbursement claims

Link branches send pension reimbursement claims to RBI's Central Accounts Section in Nagpur.

2. Single Window speeds reimbursement

The Single Window System settles bank reimbursement claims directly, without going through RBI each time.

1. Life certificate gets a receipt

Every bank must give a signed receipt when it takes a pensioner's life certificate.

2. Digital certificates get digital receipts

A pensioner who submits a digital life certificate gets a digital receipt back.

3. Banks must implement Jeevan Pramaan

Every bank paying government pension must roll out Jeevan Pramaan to all its branches.

1. Sympathetic service to elderly pensioners

Banks must treat elderly pensioners with special care and courtesy.

2. Checklist for pension inspections

Auditors get a checklist to inspect pension customer service at each branch.

3. One officer answers pension complaints

Each bank appoints one or two Nodal Officers per region to track pensioner complaints.

4. Toll-free line for pension queries

Every bank must run a toll-free line, staffed by trained people, for pension complaints.

5. No new account after death

A bank cannot force a new account on a widow who wants family pension paid into the old joint account.

6. PPO numbers go on passbooks

Every bank must write the Pension Payment Order number in the pensioner's passbook.

7. Pension slips at two events

Banks must issue a pension slip when pension starts and whenever the amount changes.

8. 8 per cent delay compensation

If a bank's own delay costs a pensioner money, the bank pays 8 per cent yearly interest for the delay.

BankPulse example. A pension payment reaches a pensioner five days late because of a bank error. The bank owes 8 per cent yearly interest on that amount for those five days, credited on its own.

9. Compensation paid without a claim

The bank pays this compensation automatically; the pensioner need not ask for it.

1. This repeals earlier pension rules

This rulebook repeals every earlier RBI instruction on the same subject, listed in its own annex.

2. Past actions under old rules

Anything already done under the old, now-repealed rules is still governed by those old rules.

3. Other laws still apply

This rulebook adds to other laws; it does not cancel them.

4. RBI's interpretation is final

If this rulebook's wording is unclear, RBI's own interpretation is the final word.