Welfare Pension (Pension Plan), Meghalaya Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board

What is the MBOCWWB Welfare Pension?

The Welfare Pension of the Meghalaya Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (MBOCWWB) is an old-age pension paid from the workers' welfare fund to registered construction workers in Meghalaya who reach 60 years of age. The Board is a statutory body under the Labour Department, Government of Meghalaya, with its office at Lower Lachumiere, Shillong 793001. Workers and labour officers in the state commonly refer to the Board simply as the "BOCW Board", and the pension as the pension plan on the Board's own scheme list.

According to the Board's schemes page, the rule reads that a member of the fund who has been working as a building worker for not less than one year after the commencement of the rules shall, on completion of sixty years of age, be eligible for pension. The amount of pension is Rs 150 per month, and an increase of Rs 10 is given for every completed year of service beyond 5 years.

That structure matters. The Rs 150 is a floor, not a ceiling. A worker whose passbook shows 5 years of recorded membership draws Rs 150 a month. A worker with 15 completed years draws Rs 150 plus 10 years of the Rs 10 increment. The increment is calculated on completed years, so a part year does not count, and it runs off the record in the member's passbook rather than off a self-declared work history. This is the single strongest reason to keep the Rs 5 monthly subscription paid without gaps for the whole of a working life.

The pension is a benefit of the welfare fund, not a contributory pension product like EPS or NPS. It is financed from the cess collected on construction works in Meghalaya together with the members' own subscriptions, and it is disbursed by the Board rather than by any bank or insurer.

Who is eligible for the MBOCWWB Welfare Pension?

You can claim the pension if:

• You are a registered member of the MBOCWWB fund, that is, your name is on the Board's beneficiary register and you hold the photo identity card issued by the Deputy Labour Commissioner.
• You have worked as a building worker for not less than one year after the commencement of the Board's rules.
• You have completed 60 years of age.
• Your subscription is up to date. The claim form has to be accompanied by the latest subscription receipt and an active passbook, so arrears block the sanction.

Registration with the Board, which is the gateway to this pension, has its own conditions. Under the Board's enrolment rules, a worker must be between 18 and 60 years of age at the time of registration and must have completed at least 90 days of construction work during the preceding 12 months, whether that work was inside Meghalaya or outside it. Days worked under MGNREGA count towards the 90-day requirement when combined with construction work, and migrant workers from Meghalaya who are employed in other states may register with the Meghalaya Board.

You are not eligible, or cannot apply, if:

• You are not a registered beneficiary of the MBOCWWB fund. There is no route to claim this pension as an unregistered construction worker; you would first have to enrol, and enrolment closes at age 60.
• You are a member of another welfare fund. The Board's enrolment declaration specifically requires a statement that the applicant is not enrolled in any other welfare fund.
• You have less than one year of recorded service as a building worker.
• You are below 60 years of age. Workers below 60 who are permanently disabled by paralysis, leprosy, tuberculosis or an accident are covered by the Board's separate Disability Pension of Rs 150 a month rather than by this scheme.
• Your registration has lapsed and you cannot produce a current identity card and the latest subscription receipt. This is a fixable problem, not a permanent bar: see the rejection section below.

What documents are required for the pension claim?

The Board's claim requirement, quoted on its schemes page, is to submit Form No. XXXIV to the Secretary of the Board with the current identity card, the latest subscription receipt and an active passbook. The age proof and bank details are the practical additions the field offices ask for, because the age proof fixes the date the pension starts and the bank details fix where it lands.

How to apply for the MBOCWWB Welfare Pension

1. Confirm your registration is live. Check that your MBOCWWB identity card has not lapsed and that your Rs 5 monthly subscription is paid up to the current month. Clear any arrears at your district labour office first.
2. Collect Form No. XXXIV from the office of the Deputy Labour Commissioner or your district labour office, or download it from the Board's website.
3. Fill in the form with your registration number, date of birth, the period of your membership and your bank account details.
4. Attach the supporting papers — current identity card, latest subscription receipt, active passbook, age proof and a photocopy of the first page of your bank passbook.
5. Submit the completed form to the Secretary of the Meghalaya Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, Lower Lachumiere, Shillong 793001, or through your district labour office.
6. Keep the acknowledgement you are given. It is the reference you will quote when you follow up.

To apply online instead, open the BOCW Online Portal linked from megbocwwb.gov.in, log in with your registered credentials (or create an account and recover the password by email or phone OTP), and select welfare pension from the list of benefits available for online application. The portal also accepts online applications for cash awards, death benefit, disability pension, educational scholarships, family pension, funeral benefit, instrument grants, maternity benefit, marriage assistance and medical benefit.

How do you check the status of a pension claim?

The Board's online portal does not advertise a self-service application status tracker. In practice, the reliable route is to contact the office that received your claim:

• Call the Board office on 0364 2501224 with your registration number and the date you submitted Form No. XXXIV.
• Write to mbocwwb-meg[at]gov[dot]in quoting the same details.
• Visit your district labour office, where the Deputy Labour Commissioner acts as the Registering Officer and holds the local beneficiary register.

Once sanctioned, the pension is a recurring monthly payment. Check the credit in your bank passbook rather than waiting for a separate intimation.

Why pension claims get rejected, and how to fix them

• Subscription arrears. The most common blocker. The claim expects a current identity card and the latest subscription receipt. Pay the outstanding Rs 5 monthly contributions at the district labour office and get a fresh receipt.
• Lapsed identity card. Renew the card with the Deputy Labour Commissioner before filing the claim.
• Passbook not updated. The Rs 10 per year increment is computed from the passbook. If entries are missing, the pension may be sanctioned at the bare Rs 150. Get the passbook posted up to date before you claim.
• Age proof mismatch. A date of birth in the school certificate that differs from the one in the voter ID will stall the file. Use the document already accepted at enrolment.
• Membership shorter than one year. A worker who registered very late and turns 60 within the year does not meet the minimum service condition.
• Enrolment in another welfare fund. Membership of a second welfare fund contradicts the declaration signed at registration.

What are the key dates and conditions?

The scheme has no annual application window and no last date. A worker becomes eligible on the day he or she completes 60 years, and the claim is filed then. The dates that do matter are personal ones: the date of registration, the date each year of service completes (which drives the Rs 10 increment past 5 years), and the date of turning 60. Registration itself must happen before the 60th birthday, because the Board's enrolment ceiling is 60 years of age.

The subscription side is monthly and continuous: Rs 10 as the one-time registration charge and Rs 5 per month as the subscription to the fund, as stated in the Board's FAQ.

Where do you raise a grievance?

• Meghalaya Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, Lower Lachumiere, Shillong 793001
• Phone: 0364 2501224
• Email: mbocwwb-meg[at]gov[dot]in
• District labour office / Deputy Labour Commissioner, who is the Registering Officer for beneficiaries
• Labour Department, Government of Meghalaya (meglabour.gov.in), the administrative department above the Board, which also runs the office of the Labour Commissioner

The Board publishes RTI provisions on its website, so a written RTI application is available where a claim has been pending unreasonably long. Registration and claim filing carry only the notified Rs 10 registration charge and the Rs 5 monthly subscription. No agent is entitled to a fee for getting a worker's name onto the Board's register or for moving a pension file.