RTI to verify your pension fixation

Ramesh retired from the Postal Department in January 2019 after 28 years of service. His Pension Payment Order showed Rs 21,400 a month. His colleague Suresh, who retired from the same rank three years later, draws Rs 27,600. Ramesh asked his office why. They said “the Pay Commission changed things.” That was the whole answer.

Ramesh suspected the office had not applied the correct revision or had used the wrong last-pay figure, but he had no proof. He could not walk into the accounts office and read his own file. What he could do was file one Right to Information application, get the exact basis on paper, and then decide whether to challenge it.

This article shows you how to do what Ramesh did: ask the right office, in the right words, for the exact figures and rules behind your pension amount, so that a wrong calculation stops being a private worry and becomes a document you can act on.

Central government pensions are fixed under the CCS Pension Rules 2021. Two rules do the real work, and knowing them is the first step to checking your office.

Rule 44 — the amount. Your pension is 50% of your emoluments or your average emoluments, whichever is higher. You need at least 10 years of qualifying service to be eligible. The minimum pension is Rs 9,000 a month and the maximum is Rs 1,25,000 a month. These limits were fixed by the Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare through its Office Memorandum F. No. 38/01/05/2022-P and PW(A) dated 26 October 2022.

Rule 66 — the revision. After your pension is first authorised under Rule 44, it can be revised whenever the government issues general orders implementing a Central Pay Commission. That revised amount then becomes your basic pension, and both the dearness relief and the additional pension for older pensioners are calculated on it. So when a Pay Commission changes pensions, the legal handle is Rule 66, not Rule 44.

One rounding rule matters for eligibility. A fraction of a year of three months or more is treated as a completed six-month period. So if you have 9 years and 9 months of service, the law treats it as 10 years, and you qualify. This comes from Rule 44 sub-rules 7 and 8.

A small but common confusion: many older articles and circulars still say “Rule 54” for the calculation. In the 2021 Rules, Rule 54 is about preparing the list of servants due for retirement, not the calculation. If your office cites Rule 54 in reply to your RTI, that is a red flag — they may be reading the wrong rule.

Your pension is revised when a Pay Commission is accepted. The number that does the work is the fitment factor — a multiplier applied to your old basic pension.

The 7th Central Pay Commission set a fitment factor of 2.57, applied with effect from 1 January 2016. That revision also fixed the minimum pension at Rs 9,000. So if your pension was authorised before 2016 and you draw a Central government pension, the figure on your PPO should reflect that 2.57 multiplier.

The 8th Central Pay Commission was set up by the Ministry of Finance through gazette notification F. No. 01-01/2025-E.III(A) dated 3 November 2025. It started work on 1 January 2026 and has an 18-month mandate, so its report is expected around mid-2027. As of mid-2026, no new fitment factor has been notified. Staff-side unions have demanded 3.83; analysts project somewhere between 1.92 and 2.86, but none of these is law yet. If your office claims it has applied the 8th CPC to your pension in 2026, that is wrong and worth challenging.

Pension is not a gift the government may give or withhold. The Supreme Court settled this in D.S. Nakara and Others v. Union of India, (1983) 1 SCC 305, decided on 17 December 1982. The Court held that pension is a statutory right, earned by long service, and that dividing pensioners into classes by their date of retirement — so that people doing the same work get different benefits — violates Article 14 of the Constitution, the right to equal treatment.

That principle was sharpened in Union of India v. SPS Vains Retired, (2008) 9 SCC 125, decided on 9 September 2008. The Court struck down a scheme that created a class within a class of same-rank pensioners based only on the date of retirement, calling it arbitrary. SPS Vains was a defence-forces rank-parity case, so cite it for the principle that fixation must treat equals equally — not as a civilian calculation formula.

These two judgments are your anchors. When your RTI reply shows that two people with the same rank and service got different fixation, you have the makings of a parity complaint.

Your pension is fixed by the office that paid your salary. For most central employees that is the Pay and Accounts Office PAO. For state employees it is the Accountant General AG or the relevant state treasury. The disbursing bank only pays what the PAO or AG authorised, so the bank cannot fix the amount — but it is a useful parallel RTI target to confirm the PPO figure on record.

If you also draw a bank pension from a nationalised bank under a separate scheme, you can file a second RTI to the bank's Central Public Information Officer to check the disbursed amount against the PPO. Keep the two separate.

Frame your application around the exact things that decide your amount. Each question forces the office to put a number or a rule on paper.

1. Which rule fixed your pension amount? The right answer is Rule 44 of the CCS Pension Rules 2021. If they say Rule 54, they are looking at the wrong chapter.
2. What is your qualifying service in years and months? Check the three-month rounding rule. 9 years 9 months should read as 10 years.
3. What was your last-pay or average emoluments drawn? Pension is half of this. A wrong pay figure means a wrong pension.
4. Which Central Pay Commission revision was applied to you? As of mid-2026 this should be the 7th CPC, effective 1 January 2016. The 8th CPC has no notified fitment yet.
5. What fitment factor was applied? For the 7th CPC the answer should be 2.57. Anything else needs an explanation.

Copy this, fill in your details, and send it to the Public Information Officer of your PAO or AG.

To: The Public Information Officer
    Pay and Accounts Office / Office of the Accountant General
    [City, PIN]

Subject: Application under Section 6 of the RTI Act 2005
        — Basis of pension fixation under PPO No. [your PPO number]

Sir/Madam,

I am a pensioner drawing pension under
PPO No. [your PPO number]. Please furnish the following
information held by your office:

1. The specific rule of the CCS Pension Rules 2021
   under which my pension amount was fixed, with a
   photocopy of the relevant order sheet.
2. My total qualifying service in years and months as
   recorded, and the working showing how it was rounded.
3. My last-pay drawn / average emoluments used for
   the 50% calculation, with the pay slip reference.
4. Which Central Pay Commission revision was applied
   to my pension, and the effective date of that revision.
5. The fitment factor multiplied with my basic pension,
   with the Office Memorandum number and date.

Fee: Rs 10 paid by Indian Postal Order / Banker's cheque
     No. [number] dated [date].

Name: [your name]
PPO No.: [your PPO number]
Address: [your address]

The fee is Rs 10 for central government applications under the RTI Rules 2012, paid by Indian Postal Order, Banker's cheque, or court-fee stamp. If you hold a BPL card, the fee is waived. Send it by registered post and keep the receipt and the postal tracking number — these are your proof of filing.

A proper reply gives you numbers and rule citations, not paragraphs of reassurance. You should see:

1. A rule number from the 2021 Rules — Rule 44 for the amount, Rule 66 for any revision.
2. A fitment factor — 2.57 if the 7th CPC revision was applied.
3. An exact last-pay or average-emoluments figure you can check against your old payslips.
4. A qualifying-service figure with the rounding shown.

If any of these is missing, vague, or cites Rule 54, your office has not answered properly and you have grounds for a first appeal.

1. Not citing your PPO number. Without it the office cannot find your file and will return a blank reply.
2. Asking “why is my pension low” instead of asking for the figures. RTI gives you records, not opinions. Ask for the numbers.
3. Skipping the fitment-factor question. This is the single number where errors hide.
4. Accepting “Pay Commission applied” as an answer. Ask which one and what factor. As of mid-2026 only the 7th CPC has a notified factor.
5. Filing late. If your fixation is wrong, every month you wait is a month of underpayment. Get the proof early, then decide on a recovery claim.

If the reply is wrong, incomplete, or does not come within 30 days, climb the ladder one step at a time.

1. First appeal to the First Appellate Authority named in your PAO or AG, within 30 days of the reply deadline, citing the questions left unanswered.
2. Second appeal to the Central Information Commission if the first appeal fails, within 90 days.
3. Central Administrative Tribunal CAT if the issue is the fixation itself — a wrong amount, not just a missing document. You now have the RTI reply as evidence.
4. High Court under Article 226 for parity claims, using D.S. Nakara and SPS Vains to argue that an arbitrary fixation violates Article 14.

RTI gets you the proof. The tribunal or court fixes the amount.

If you are 80 or older, you are entitled to an additional pension on top of your basic pension, under Rule 44 sub-rule 6 of the 2021 Rules. The scale is:

1. 20% more at age 80
2. 30% more at 85
3. 40% more at 90
4. 50% more at 95
5. 100% more at 100 and above

If you crossed one of these ages and your pension did not rise, add a sixth question to your RTI: “Has the additional pension under Rule 44(6) been applied from the qualifying age, and from which date?” Many disbursing banks miss the birthday trigger, so check the bank's record too.

1. Q: My pension seems lower than a colleague of the same rank. Can RTI fix it? RTI cannot change the amount, but it gives you the figures to prove a parity complaint. Once you both have your RTI replies showing different fixation for the same rank and service, you have a Nakara and SPS Vains argument.
2. Q: Is my pension pro-rata for shorter service? If you retired before completing 10 years you are not eligible for a full service pension under Rule 44. Ask the RTI for the qualifying-service calculation and the rounding applied — the three-month rule sometimes pushes borderline service over the 10-year line.
3. Q: Does the 8th Pay Commission apply to me now? No. As of mid-2026 the 8th CPC is collecting data and has not notified any fitment factor. If your office says it has applied the 8th CPC, that is incorrect.
4. Q: The bank says it only pays what the PAO sent. Who do I file against? File the main RTI against the PAO or AG that fixed the amount, and a separate RTI to the bank to confirm the disbursed figure matches the PPO.

For a step-by-step guide that walks you through drafting, filing, and following up an RTI application of any kind, read The RTI Playbook. It is free.

This site is run by volunteers and kept free for every reader. If this article saved you time or helped you recover money, a small donation keeps it running.

• RTI for delayed pension payment
• RTI to check your gratuity amount

1. DoP and PW Office Memorandum F. No. 38/01/05/2022-P and PW(A) dated 26.10.2022 — Rule 44 amount of pension, 50%, minimum Rs 9,000, maximum Rs 1,25,000, additional pension at 80+.
2. CCS Pension Rules 2021, Rule 44 and Rule 66 — amount and revision after authorisation.
3. DoP and PW OM dated 4.8.2016 — 7th CPC pension revision, fitment factor 2.57, minimum pension Rs 9,000.
4. Ministry of Finance gazette notification F. No. 01-01/2025-E.III(A) dated 3 November 2025 — 8th Central Pay Commission constituted, effective 1 January 2026.
5. D.S. Nakara and Others v. Union of India, (1983) 1 SCC 305.
6. Union of India v. SPS Vains Retired, (2008) 9 SCC 125.
7. RTI Act 2005 read with RTI Rules 2012 — Rs 10 application fee.

Last reviewed: 4 July 2026.

RTI for pension fixation — complete guide on tracking and escalating pension fixation delays:

1. Step 1: What is pension fixation? (a) the pension fixation — is the process — of calculating — and fixing — the pension amount — based on: (i) the last pay drawn — (basic pay + DA — at the time of retirement), (ii) the service length — (the minimum 10 years — for the pension — and the full pension — at 20/33 years), (iii) the pension rules — (the OPS — Old Pension Scheme — or the NPS — New Pension Scheme), (iv) the commutation — (the fraction — of the pension — commuted — for the lump sum), (b) the fixation — is done by: (i) the department — (the last employer) — which issues the PPO (Pension Payment Order), (ii) the CPAO — (for the central government) — which processes the PPO — and sends to the CPPC — and the bank, © the fixation — can be delayed — or wrong — and the RTI — can be used — to track — and escalate.
2. Step 2: Common pension fixation issues. (a) delayed fixation: (i) the department — takes more than 6-12 months — to fix the pension — after the retirement, (ii) the reason: (a) the pension papers — are not processed — by the department, (b) the CPAO — is slow — in the processing, © the records — are missing — or incomplete, (b) wrong fixation: (i) the pension — is fixed — at a lower amount — because of: (a) the wrong basic pay — used — (the last pay — vs the pay — before the increment), (b) the wrong DA — used, © the wrong service length — calculated, (d) the wrong formula — applied, (ii) the pensioner — gets less pension — than the entitled, © revision not done: (i) the pension — is not revised — after the Central Government order — (like the DA merger — or the fitment benefit), (ii) the revision — is delayed — by the department — or the CPAO, (d) commutation not paid: (i) the commutation — (the lump sum — for the fraction of the pension) — is not paid — within the time, (ii) the delay — is by the department — or the CPAO — or the bank.
3. Step 3: How to check pension fixation status. (a) check with the department: (i) contact the department — (the last employer) — and check — if the pension papers — are processed — and the PPO — is issued, (ii) the department — can provide — the PPO number — and the fixation details, (b) check with the CPAO: (i) visit the CPAO website — cpao.nic.in — and check the PPO status, (ii) the CPAO — can provide — the PPO processing status — and the CPPC — and the bank — details, © check with the bank: (i) visit the bank — and check — if the PPO — is received — and the pension — is being credited, (ii) the bank — can provide — the pension amount — and the CPPC — details, (d) check the PPO: (i) the PPO — is the document — that shows: (a) the pension amount, (b) the commutation amount, © the DCRG (Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity), (d) the bank — and the CPPC, (ii) the PPO — is issued by the department — and sent to the CPAO — and the bank.
4. Step 4: File RTI on pension fixation. File RTI with the department (or the CPAO) asking for: (a) the fixation: “Provide the pension fixation details — for [name], PPO number [number] — retired from [department] on [date] — including: (i) the basic pay — used, (ii) the DA — used, (iii) the service length — calculated, (iv) the pension formula — applied, (v) the pension amount — fixed, (vi) the commutation — amount and the date”, (b) the PPO: “Provide the PPO status — for [name], retired from [department] on [date] — including: (i) the PPO number, (ii) the issue date, (iii) the CPAO — and the CPPC — and the bank — details, (iv) the dispatch — and the receipt — by the bank”, © the revision: “Provide the pension revision status — for the PPO number [number] — including: (i) the revision order — and the date, (ii) the revised amount, (iii) the arrears — and the credit date”, (d) the delay: “Provide the reason — for the delay — in the pension fixation — for [name], retired on [date] — including: (i) the processing stage, (ii) the pending — at the stage, (iii) the expected date — of the completion”, (e) the grievance: “Provide the grievance status — for the complaint — filed on [date] — reference number [number]”.
5. Step 5: The department and the CPAO as public authorities. (a) the department — (the last employer) — is a public authority — under the RTI Act — and the CPIO — is at the department, (b) the CPAO — is a public authority — and the CPIO — is at the CPAO — New Delhi, © the RTI application — can be filed: (i) online — on the department's website — or the Department of Posts portal, (ii) by post — to the CPIO — of the department — or the CPAO, (iii) the application fee — is Rs 10 — by the IPO — or the online payment.
6. Step 6: How to escalate pension fixation delays. (a) Step 1 — contact the department: contact the department — and check — if the papers — are processed, (b) Step 2 — file a grievance: file a grievance — on the CPENGRAMS — cpengrams.nic.in — or the department's grievance portal, © Step 3 — file RTI: if the grievance — is not resolved — within 30 days — file RTI — with the department — and the CPAO, (d) Step 4 — first appeal: if the RTI — is not replied — within 30 days — file the first appeal — with the FAA, (e) Step 5 — second appeal: if the FAA — does not resolve — file the second appeal — with the CIC, (f) Step 6 — court: if the CIC — does not resolve — file a writ — in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) — or the High Court — for the fixation.
7. Step 7: Practical tips. (a) check the PPO (check the PPO — for the fixation details — and the correctness — immediately — after the retirement), (b) keep the service records (keep the service records — like the pay slips — and the service book — for the verification — of the fixation), © file RTI (if the fixation — is delayed — or wrong — file RTI — with the department — or the CPAO — to get the details — and the reason), (d) file the appeals (if the RTI — is not replied — file the appeals — within the time limit), (e) Example: A retiree — from the central government — retired on [date] — but the pension — was not fixed — for 8 months — he filed RTI — with the department — the RTI reply showed — that the service book — was missing — the service records — were reconstructed — and the pension — was fixed — within 2 months — and the PPO — was issued — with the arrears.

See Pension Fixation RTI and Pension RTI Format.