The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare, under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions, has released a new notification regarding the submission of pension cases for Central Government retiring officers. The recent Office Memorandum, dated November 11, 2024, specifies that pension cases must be submitted using the Single Pension Application Form 6-A through online mode. As per the memorandum, retiring officials are required to submit Form 6-A through Bhavishya/eHRMS for processing their pension cases.
“It has been stated that the pension case of a Government servant shall be processed through online mode and the retiring officials shall submit Form 6-A through Bhavishya/eHRMS. This new Form 6-A is scheduled to come into force after 120 days from the date of notification i.e. 16.11.2024.”
The recently released form, now seamlessly connected with Bhavishya/e-HRMS, is accessible to all Central Government Employees intending to retire in December 2024 and beyond. The official launch of this form and its integration with Bhavishya/e-HRMS occurred on August 30, 2024. These online platforms aim to simplify the application procedure and offer applicants a user-friendly digital interface.
According to the OM dated November 4, 2024, “The new Form 6-A has been incorporated into Bhavishya and e-HRMS 2.0 and will be accessible to retiring Central Government employees w.e.f. 06.11.2024. Consequently, the retiring Central Government employees, are henceforth, required to fill out the new Single Pension Application Form 6-A exclusively through the online mode on Bhavishya or eHRMS 2.0.”
Pension application Form 6-A
Form 6-A will be implemented on November 16, 2024, as a replacement for Form 6. This updated form consolidates all required information into one application. Retiring employees are required to use Form 6-A for nominating purposes, discontinuing the use of the outdated Common Nomination Form (Form A).
The latest form combines a total of 9 Forms/Formats. The Forms/Formats that have been merged include Form 6, 8, 4, 3, A, Format 1, Format 9, FMA, and Zero Option Form. Amendments have been made to Rules 53, 57, 58, 59, and 60 of CCS Pension Rules, 2021 to accommodate this change.
A PIB release stated: “In this new form a total 9 Forms/Formats have been merged. The old Forms/Formats that have been merged are Form 6, 8, 4, 3, A, Format 1, Format 9, FMA and Zero Option Form. In order to incorporate this change, amendment to Rules 53, 57, 58, 59, 60 of CCS Pension Rules, 2021 have been made. The amendment has been notified following the due process of consultations with all the stakeholders such as Dept of Expenditure, Dept of Law & Justice, Controller General of Accounts, Comptroller & Auditor General of India, Dept of Personnel and Training.”
The PIB statement said: “The new form and related changes in the business process of Bhavishya, will be a game changer, on the one hand, simplifies the pension form submission for the employee to a single sign only and on the other hand achieves the end-to-end digitisation of the entire process of pension processing till the start of pension payment after retirement. This paves the path towards paperless working in the whole process of pension. With a pensioner friendly User Interface, now the pensioner need not to worry about the forms which he has filled or might have missed.”
How to apply
The latest version of Form 6-A has been added to Bhavishya and e-HRMS 2.0 for retiring Central Government employees starting from 06.11.2024. As a result, retiring Central Government employees must now complete the new Single Pension Application Form 6-A solely through the online platform on Bhavishya or e-HRMS 2.0.
Government employees are required to update their family details by filling out Form 6-A prior to retirement. Pension cases will be processed online through Bhavishya/e-HRMS unless there is an exemption.
Retiring officials utilizing e-HRMS must submit Form 6-A online for superannuation cases, while those not using e-HRMS for non-superannuation cases must submit Form 6-A through Bhavishya.
It is essential for employees to ensure that Form 6-A is completed and submitted to the Head of the Office at least six months before their retirement date. Failure to do so may result in delay of pension commutation. Employees must personally apply for pension commutation if Form 6-A is submitted by a spouse or family member.