Scheme for Payment of Pensions to Central Government Civil Pensioners throught Authorised Banks: Sixth Edition of Scheme Booklet by CPAO
SCHEME FOR PAYMENT OF PENSIONS
TO CENTRAL GOVERNMENT CIVIL PENSIONERS
THROUGH AUTHORISED BANKS
(Sixth Edition, 2026)
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Expenditure
O/o. Controller General of Accounts
CENTRAL PENSION ACCOUNTING OFFICE
PREFACE
This is the sixth edition of the “Scheme for Payment of Pensions to Central Government Civil Pensioners through Authorised Banks”, published since the inception of the Central Pension Accounting Office (CPAO) on 1st January 1990. The ‘Scheme booklet’ contains comprehensive instructions and guidelines to be meticulously followed by the staff of CPAO and the authorised banks entrusted with the disbursement of pensions to Central Civil Pensioners, in respect of cases for which pension disbursement authorities have been issued by CPAO. This edition has been updated up to April 2026.
It is recommended that the Centralised Pension Processing Centres (CPPCs) of all authorised pension disbursing banks circulate this Scheme Booklet to all pension account holding branches to ensure that the staff dealing with pension matters remain fully conversant with the latest rules, regulations, instructions, guidelines, and prescribed formats.
In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions contained in this Scheme booklet and the prevailing CCS (Pension) Rules or CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, the extant CCS (Pension) Rules or CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules shall prevail.
The ‘Scheme booklet’ is also available on the website of the Central Pension Accounting Office and may be viewed or downloaded for reference and guidance.
Suggestions for further improvement and refinement of this scheme booklet are welcome and will be greatly appreciated.
Dated: 30th April, 2026
DEEPIKA JAIN, ICAS
Chief Controller (Pensions)
Central Pension Accounting Office
Glossary
| 1 | AB | Authorised Bank |
| 2 | AG | Accountant General |
| 3 | AIS | All India Services |
| 4 | ATM | Automated Teller Machine |
| 5 | BSR | Basic Statistical Return |
| 6 | C&AG | Comptroller & Auditor General of India |
| 7 | CAM | Civil Accounts Manual |
| 8 | CAS, Nagpur | Central Accounts Section, Nagpur |
| 9 | CBS | Core Banking Solution |
| 10 | $CC(P)$ | Chief Controller (Pensions) |
| 11 | CCS (Pension) Rules | Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules |
| 12 | CGA | Controller General of Accounts |
| 13 | CGHS | Central Government Health Scheme |
| 14 | CPAO | Central Pension Accounting Office |
| 15 | CPPC | Centralized Pension Processing Centre |
| 16 | CRA | Central Record keeping Agency |
| 17 | CTR | Central Treasury Rules |
| 18 | CVP | Commuted Value of Pension |
| 19 | DA | Dearness Allowance |
| 20 | DR | Dearness Relief |
| 21 | DMS | Date-wise Monthly Statement |
| 22 | DoE | Department of Expenditure |
| 23 | DOPPW | Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare |
| 24 | DPE | Department of Public Enterprises |
| 25 | EI Kathmandu | Embassy of India, Kathmandu |
| 26 | Electronic mail | |
| 27 | EPPO | electronic Pension Payment Order |
| 28 | eScroll | electronic Scroll |
| 29 | ESSA | electronic Special Seal Authority |
| 30 | FFR | Freedom Fighters & Rehabilitation |
| 31 | ICT | Information and Communication Technology |
| 32 | IFSC | Indian Financial System Code |
| 33 | GoI | Government of India |
| 34 | KYC | Know Your Customer |
| 35 | MoF | Ministry of Finance |
| 36 | MHA | Ministry of Home Affairs |
| 37 | NIC | National Informatics Centre |
| 38 | NPS | National Pension System |
| 39 | NRI | Non-Resident Indian |
| 40 | NRE | Non-Resident External |
| 41 | NRO | Non-Resident Ordinary |
| 42 | PAO | Pay & Accounts Office |
| 43 | PAD | Pay and Accounts Division |
| 44 | PAHB | Pension Account Holding Branch (also known as Home Branch) |
| 45 | PARAS | Pension Authorization Retrieval & Accounting System |
| 46 | PBOR | Personnel Below Officer Rank |
| 47 | PDA | Pension Disbursing Authority |
| 48 | PFMS | Public Financial Management System |
| 49 | PPO | Pension Payment Order |
| 50 | PPPO | Provisional Pension Payment Order |
| 51 | Pr. AO | Principal Accounts Office |
| 52 | Pr. AG | Principal Accountant General |
| 53 | PSA | Pension Sanctioning Authority |
| 54 | PSBS | Public Sector Bank Suspense |
| 55 | RBI | Reserve Bank of India |
| 56 | RPAO | Regional Pay and Accounts Office |
| 57 | SBI | State Bank of India |
| 58 | SFF | Special Frontier Force |
| 59 | SMS | Short Message Service |
| 60 | Sr. AO | Senior Accounts Officer |
| 61 | SSA | Special Seal Authority |
| 62 | UT | Union Territory |
| 63 | WRPS | Web Responsive Pensioners’ Service |
Table of Contents
| Para No. | Heading | Page No. |
| 1. | Short Title and Commencement | 01 |
| 2. | Extent of Application | 01 |
| 3. | Death/Retirement Gratuity | 02 |
| 4. | Relevant Provisions of Central Treasury Rules (CTRs) | 02 |
| 5. | Applicable Pension Rules and Authorities Competent to Issue PPOs | 02 |
| 6. | Time Schedule for Processing of Pension Cases | 04 |
| 7. | Broad Features of the Banking Arrangement | 05 |
| 8. | Mode of Crediting Pension in Pensioner’s/Family Pensioner’s Account | 07 |
| 9. | Flow of PPO/EPPO | 08 |
| 10. | Roles and Responsibilities of Central Pension Accounting Office (CPAO) | 12 |
| 11. | Roles and Responsibilities of Centralized Pension Processing Centre (CPPC) | 16 |
| 12. | Roles and Responsibilities of Pension Account Holding Branch (Home Branch) | 23 |
| 13. | ICT Operations Between CPAO and CPPCs of the Authorized Banks | 26 |
| 14. | Procedure Regarding Switchover of Pension Payment Channel | 30 |
| 15. | Procedure for Transfer of Pension Payment from one Branch/Bank to Another | 31 |
| 16. | Information to Pensioners/Family Pensioners | 34 |
| 17. | Certificates to be furnished by the Pensioners/Family Pensioners | 35 |
| 18. | Payment of Pension to N.R.I. Pensioners | 41 |
| 19. | Opening the Bank Account and Withdrawal of Pension by Old/Sick/Disabled/Incapacitated Pensioners/Family Pensioners | 43 |
| 20. | Additional Quantum of Pension/Family Pension | 44 |
| 21. | Dearness Relief on Pension/Family Pension | 46 |
| 22. | Commutation of Pension | 48 |
| 23. | Revision of Pension | 50 |
| 24. | Procedure for Payment of Arrears of Pension | 51 |
| 25. | Nomination by Pensioner under the Payment of Arrears of Pension (Nomination) Rules 1983 for Payment of Life Time Arrears | 53 |
| 26. | Regulation of Family Pension | 55 |
| 27. | Cancellation of PPO | 58 |
| 28. | Issuance of Duplicate PPO | 59 |
| 29. | Policy Guidelines for Disbursement of Samman to the Freedom Fighters and their Dependent under Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojna (SSSY) by Banks | 61 |
| 30. | Payment of Pension/Family Pension to NPS’s Subscribers in Death/Disability Cases | 61 |
| 31. | List of PAOs and Codes | 62 |
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