Good News: Dependents Of COVID-19 Victims To Get Govt Pension

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New Delhi: The Union government announced on Saturday that dependents of those who have lost their lives due to COVID-19 will get pension.

Besides family pension, insurance benefits under Employees’ Deposit-Linked Insurance (EDLI) scheme have been enhanced and liberalised.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi — who on Saturday also announced free education and other financial benefits for children orphaned due to COVID-19 pandemic — said these steps will help mitigate financial difficulties faced by families who have lost their earning members.

The benefit of Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) pension scheme for employment-related death cases is being extended to those who have died due to COVID, the PMO said in a statement.

Dependent family members will receive pension equivalent to 90 per cent of the average daily wage drawn by the worker as per existing norms. This benefit will be available retrospectively with effect from March 24, 2020, and for all similar cases till March 24, 2022.

Maximum insurance benefit has been increased from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 7 lakh, while provision of minimum insurance of Rs 2.5 lakh has been restored. It will be retrospectively applicable from February 15, 2020 for the next three years.

For families of contractual and casual workers, the condition of continuous employment in one establishment has been liberalised. The benefit will now be available to families of even those who may have changed jobs in the last 12 months preceding his death, PMO informed.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment will be issuing detailed guidelines of these schemes.