Delays in release of pension and other benefits

KOHIMA, SEP 3 (NPN): The Nagaland government has acknowledged recurring delays in settling pension, gratuity, GPF/NPS and other retirement benefits of government employees, attributing the problem to procedural lapses, incomplete documentation and delays in processing and forwarding cases.
The issue was raised in the Nagaland Legislative Assembly on Thursday by NLA member Nuklutoshi, who sought details on the reasons for delays in settling retirement benefits.
Chief Minister Dr. Neiphiu Rio said the government had prescribed procedures for processing pension and other retirement benefits, but these were not always properly followed by officials and retiring employees. He also noted that some employees might not be fully aware of the procedures and required documentation.
Rio said the government had constituted a committee to review the existing system and recommend measures to improve and digitise the process. He said digitisation had already begun.
According to the chief minister, one major problem was inadequate guidance to retiring employees on filling pension papers and submitting the necessary documents. Delays in issuing provisional release orders by departments could also hold up no-demand certificates required for processing pension cases.
Rio said pension papers should be forwarded to the Accountant General at least six months before retirement so that benefits could be finalised before the employee retires. However, some departments reportedly accumulated several cases and forwarded them in bulk, causing avoidable delays.
On final GPF withdrawals, Rio said proposals passed through multiple stages. For gazetted employees, cases move from the Accountant General’s office to the Head of Department and then to the Finance Department for final clearance and issuance of withdrawal authority. For Grade-IV employees, applications originate at district offices before moving through directorates, HODs and the Finance Department.
He said GPF proposals were also frequently rejected because of incomplete documents, including release and sanction orders, death certificates and succession certificates. Delays could also occur when information regarding the death of pension beneficiaries was not furnished promptly.
Nuklutoshi stressed that pension was a right earned through years of public service and not a favour. He said delays caused serious hardship to retirees, for whom pension was often the main source of livelihood and was needed to meet household and medical expenses.
He said the problem was systemic and involved coordination among departments, treasuries, district offices, accounts authorities, the Finance Department and the Accountant General. Outdated service records, missing entries, errors in service books, verification delays, staff shortages, frequent transfers of dealing officials and movement of physical files could further slow the process.
Pre-retirement verification proposed
Nuklutoshi called for pre-retirement verification to begin at least two years before retirement to identify and correct discrepancies in service records well in advance.
He also sought clear timelines and accountability mechanisms so employees could track their pension cases and know which office or official was responsible for any delay.
Citing digital initiatives in other northeastern states, Nuklutoshi referred to Assam’s online pension tracking system, Meghalaya’s automatic monthly pension payments and biometric self-verification, and the integrated financial management systems of Mizoram and Sikkim.
He urged Nagaland to move from a fragmented and reactive process to a digital, proactive, time-bound and accountable system, ensuring employees receive their retirement benefits promptly and with dignity.
Rio reiterated that the government was aware of the difficulties faced by retirees and said the committee reviewing the system would pursue digitisation to reduce errors and delays.