Helping Tips/Guidelines for subscribers and DDOs

• GPF Guidelines
• Pension Guidelines
  

GPF Guidelines

1. The GPF Rules are applicable to those employees of H.P. State Govt. who joined service before 15-5-2003.
2. As soon as a Govt. servant is admitted to a Provident Fund, the Provident Fund Account number allotted to him/her should be entered on the right hand top of Page-I of his/her Service Book by means of a rubber stamp.
3. A subscriber can subscribe towards GPF a sum (in whole rupees) as fixed by him/her, subject to minimum 6% of emoluments and not more than his/her total emoluments (i.e. Basic Pay+ D.P. + D.A.).
4. Subscription can be increased twice and/or reduced once at any time during the year.
5. Subscription to the fund shall be stopped during suspension, and at the option of the govt. servant during leave on half pay, leave without pay and dies non. Proportionate subscription to be recovered for the period of duty and any leave other than H.P.L./ E.O.L.
6. If the subscriber is retiring on superannuation, his/her subscriptions must be stoped towards GPF three months before his/her superannuation. It is also to be ensure that deduction statement for the last one year is sent with his/her Final Payment application by the DDO concerned.
7. A subscriber can nominate one or more persons conferring the right to received his/her GPF amount in the event of his/her death. If more than one person is nominated, the amount or share payable to each nominee should be indicated clearly. A subscriber may at any time cancel a nomination by due notice and send a fresh nomination.
8. A subscriber having a family can nominate only member/members of his/her family which includes wife/wives except judicially separate wife, husband ( unless expressly excluded), parents, paternal grandparent when no parent is alive, children ( including adopted children), minor brothers, unmarried sisters and deceased son’s widow and children. Subscriber having no family can nominate any person/persons including a company/association/body of individuals/ a charitable or other trust of fund, subject to its validity, a nomination/notice of cancellation takes effect from the date of its receipt by the Accounts Officer.
9. A subscriber may at any time cancel a nomination by sending a notice in writing to the Accounts Officer. Subscribers   are advised to file a revised nomination in form 5(3) in the event of change in the size of their families to avoid legal complications at the time of making payments to the claimants in the event of death of subscriber.
10. While filling nomination subscriber should clearly indicate the contingencies the happening of which the nomination shall become invalid i.e. in case of wife/husband ‘Legal Separation’ in case of son ‘Disinheritance,’ in case of daughter ‘After Marriage’ should be recorded. In case the subscriber has no family or has one member of his /her family, he/she should record in the contingency column “on acquiring family”/ on acquiring another member of my family”.
11. Before handing over the GPF statements to the subscribers concerned, DDO should satisfy himself regarding correctness of the statements and record of balances may be kept in the Pay Bill Registers. Errors, if any may be brought to the notice of this office immediately.  Similarly subscriber should also satisfy himself/herself as to the correctness of the GPFstatement and return the confirmation slip to this office.
12. Subscriber should bring the errors, if any to the notice of Accounts Officer through his/her DDO alongwith complete particulars of deductions within three months from the date of receipt of GPF statement.
13. If the subscriber is retiring on superannuation, he/she must stop subscribing towards GPF three months before his/her superannuation. It is also to be ensure that deduction statement for the last one year is sent with his/her Final Payment application by the DDO concerned.
14. The subscribers retiring on superannuation should submit his/her F.P. application part I one year prior to his/her retirement and part II immediately after retirement through his/her DDO in the proforma as prescribed in the appendix “D’ of GPF Rules.
15. While forwarding the Final payment application to the Accounts Officer, DDO should ensure that date of retirement; details of Last Fund Deductions and certificate relating to the withdrawals sanctioned/paid to the retiree during last 12 months immediately preceding to his/her retirement have been recorded in the application for final payment.
16. When a GPF subscriber dies after having put in five years’ service, the person receiving the fund balance will be paid an additional amount under the Head 2235-Social Security and Welfare, 60 - Other Social Security & Welfare programme, 104 - Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme, if the balance at credit had not fallen below the prescribed limits at any time during the three years preceding the month of death. The additional amount equal to the average balance in the account during the period of 36 months preceding the month of death subject to a maximum of Rs. 30,000/- will be payable. In such cases DDO should clearly record no demand certificate while forwarding the F.P. cases to the Accounts Officer for final payment.
17. DDO should ensure that GPF schedules have been prepared in the prescribed format i.e. T.R.-56, depicting therein the entries clearly and legible. GPF schedules should be written one sided.
18. As and when the subscriber transfers to another DDO, this aspect may be indicated clearly in the GPF schedule.
19. GPF subscription and recoveries on account of refund should be recorded separately in the columns prescribed for.
20. It may also be ensured that pay in respect of each subscriber has been recorded in the schedules.
21. Salary head may also be mentioned in the GPF Schedules and also when making reference to this office relating to GPF remittances.
22. While sanctioning temporary advance/withdrawal to the subscriber, it may be ensured that sanctions have been accorded strictly in accordance with the GPF Rules and instructions and availability of GPF Balance in the GPF account of the subscriber concerned.

Pension Guidelines

DO's for DDOs

(i) Maintain service Book of the govt. servant properly chronologically with all noting of fixation of pay, promotion, scale of pay, post held, leave, suspension, reinstatement, extension, superannuation etc. under proper attestation along with any other non-qualifying service. Where entries have been revised (Pay etc.) the previous entries should be cancelled and revised entries recorded by giving a note of it on the previous entries..

(ii) Process pension cases 2 (two) years before the date of superannuation of the govt. servant.

(iii) Regulation of pay, i.e. in case of promotion, revision of pay, etc. may be re- checked further before sending the case to the office of the A.G. (A&E) Shimla H.P.

(iv) Verification of service should be checked further from the date of joining in service up to the date of superannuation, retirement or death as the case may be.

(v) Nomination for Death, Gratuity, etc, should be obtained from the govt. servant and forward the same to the office of the A.G.(A&E) along with the pension papers, after acceptance of the same by the Head of the office.

(vi) "No-Demand Certificate" from the Estate officer , if any, along with other departmental outstanding dues to govt. may be furnished by the Head of the office.

(vii) L.P .C. should be forwarded to the office of the A.G.(A&E) immediately after retirement of the govt. servant.

(viii) Form-7 and Form-18 should be enclosed with the pension papers after obtaining the approval of the Head of the office.

(xi) Application for commutation obtained from the Govt. servant should be sent separately.

(x) Form-5 should be obtained well in advance from the Govt. servant before the date of his/her retirement and enclosed with the pension papers.

(xi) Take special care while filling in different columns of the application for commutation of pension.

(xii) To take note in the service Book whether provisional pension/gratuity has/have been authorised to the pensioner, if so, the amount of the pension/gratuity and for the period for which these. are sanctioned, should the indicated in the Service Book.

(xiii) A notification/office order indicating the date of superannuation of a govt. servant should be sent to the office of the A.G (A&E) immediately after retirement of the govt. servant

DONT'S for DDOs

(i) Do not keep any noting in service book unattested. .-

(ii) Don’t start processing pension cases just before retirement or after the retirement.

(iii) Do not delay the submission of pension cases to the office of the A.G.(A&E). Shimla H.P.

(iv) Do not keep any period of service unverified.

( v) Do not forward any Form unfilled.

(vi) Do not send final payment case of GPF alongwith pension case as GPF cases are dealt with by Funds Wing of O/O the A.G. (A&E) H.P. Shimla 171003.

Duties of the Govt. servant

(1) Every Govt. servant is entitled to check his Service Book annually under the provisions of S.R.202. It is in his/her own interest to ensure that the Service Book and leave accounts are maintained by the office properly and to ensure that

(a) An entry exists in the Service Book that the Govt. servant has been medically examined and found fit on initial appointment.
(b) The date of birth and the date of confirmation in a service or post is properly entered in the Service Book.
(c) Whether annual verification of service every year has been recorded without any interruption under proper attestation.
(d) Whether all annual increments have been noted in Service Book with pay fixation, if any.
(e) Whether each and every noting in the service book has been attested by a competent authority.
(f) Whether nominations submitted by him/her for G.P.F, Death Gratuity, Group Insurance Scheme( GIS), etc. are accepted and attached in the Service Book. If any deficiency/lacunae is found on the above, it should at once be brought to the notice of the Authorities for rectification in writing and followed till completion.

(2) The Govt. Servant who are due to retire within 2 years should check his/her entire Service Book and if any deficiencies are found, it should at once be brought to the notice of the authorities for rectification.

(3) The Govt. Servant should submit "Form-5" duly filled in with all enclosures as asked for in due time, as and when received from the authorities.

(4) All forms including Commutation application should be filled in complete shape by the govt. servant( due to retire) so that there is no ambiguity which may cause undue delay in finalisation of his/her pension case.

Above all the entries recorded on the first page of Service Book Vol.-1 should be scrutinized properly. It may be ensured that Date of Birth is recorded both in words and figures.