Old Age Pension Scheme - Uttarakhand

What is the Old Age Pension Scheme in Uttarakhand?

Old Age Pension Scheme is a social security pension run by the Social Welfare Department, Government of Uttarakhand, through the Directorate of Social Welfare in Dehradun. The scheme, known locally as vridhavastha pension or budhapa pension, pays a monthly cash pension to elderly residents of the state who have little or no independent income.

According to the Social Welfare Department's service page, the Old Age Pension Scheme pays Rs 1,500 per month to each eligible senior citizen. The rate was raised from Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 a month by the state government, and unlike the earlier arrangement in which only one member of an elderly couple was covered in practice, both husband and wife now draw the pension separately when both qualify.

Old Age Pension in Uttarakhand is a combined scheme. One part of the money comes from the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme under the National Social Assistance Programme of the Government of India, and the state adds a top-up so that every approved pensioner receives the same Rs 1,500 in hand. The pensioner does not have to track the two components; a single monthly credit lands in the bank account.

Old Age Pension is the largest of the eight pensions administered on the state's Social Security Pension portal, ssp.uk.gov.in, which is built on the eSPAN platform developed by the National Informatics Centre, Uttarakhand State Unit. The portal's own dashboard shows old age pension as by far the biggest of these programmes, with roughly 5.97 lakh pensioners and disbursement of about Rs 367 crore recorded against the scheme, the other pensions on the same portal cover widows, divyang persons, farmers, deserted women, dwarf persons and Teelu Rauteli awardees.

Key features

• Rs 1,500 per month, credited by Direct Benefit Transfer.
• Paid to each eligible person, so an eligible couple receives Rs 3,000 between them.
• No renewal application every year; payment continues while the pensioner remains eligible and completes the periodic verification.
• Application is free, online or offline.

Who is eligible for the Uttarakhand old age pension?

You can apply if:

• You are a permanent resident of Uttarakhand.
• You are 60 years of age or above. The department permits filing once you reach 59 years and 6 months, so the file is cleared by the time you turn

• Your monthly income from all sources is up to Rs 4,000, or you hold a BPL ration card.
• You have been selected in an open meeting of the Gram Sabha (for rural applicants) or recommended by the ward councillor (for urban applicants).
• You have a core banking (CBS) bank account in your own name, seeded with Aadhaar.

You cannot apply if:

• You are below 60 years of age. There is no relaxation below the 59 years 6 months filing window.
• You are not a resident of Uttarakhand, even if you were born in the state.
• Your monthly income exceeds Rs 4,000 and you do not hold a BPL card.
• You are already drawing another state social security pension, widow, divyang, deserted woman, farmer or Teelu Rauteli pension. Only one of these pensions is payable to the same person at a time.
• You are a government pensioner whose service pension already places your income above the Rs 4,000 monthly ceiling.

Applicants who are not eligible for old age pension but are elderly and destitute should ask the District Social Welfare Officer about the other pensions on the same portal, several of which have different income and category tests.

What documents are required for the Uttarakhand old age pension?

Keep clear scans or photographs of each document. The eSPAN upload screen rejects blurred images and files that exceed the size limit shown on the form.

How to apply for the Uttarakhand old age pension online

1. Open the Social Security Pension portal at ssp.uk.gov.in.
2. Choose the option for a new online application (नया ऑनलाइन आवेदन करें) and select Old Age Pension from the list of schemes.
3. Fill in your personal details; name, father's or husband's name, date of birth, category, district, block or municipal body, village or ward, and mobile number — exactly as they appear on your Aadhaar.
4. Enter your bank account number and IFSC code of a CBS branch, and confirm that the account is in your own name.
5. Upload the scanned documents: age proof, income certificate or BPL card, family register extract, photograph, bank passbook and Aadhaar.
6. Submit the form and save the application number shown on the confirmation screen. Note it down; every later status check needs it.
7. Take a printout of the submitted form, get the Gram Panchayat or ward councillor recommendation signed on it, and deposit it with your District Social Welfare Office if the office asks for the physical set.

The same online application can also be filed through the Apni Sarkar portal at eservices.uk.gov.in and through the UMANG mobile app, both of which route the form to the same departmental back end.

How to apply offline at the District Social Welfare Office

1. Visit the District Social Welfare Office (Zila Samaj Kalyan Adhikari karyalaya) in your district headquarters and collect the old age pension application form free of charge.
2. Fill in the form and attach self-attested copies of Aadhaar, age proof, income certificate or BPL card, family register extract, bank passbook and photograph.
3. Get the form endorsed by your Gram Pradhan or ward councillor confirming selection in the open Gram Sabha meeting.
4. Submit the complete set at the counter and collect the dated acknowledgement, which carries the reference number for follow-up.

A Common Service Centre or Jan Seva Kendra can also submit the online form on your behalf for the notified assisted-service charge.

How to check the status of your Uttarakhand pension

1. Open ssp.uk.gov.in and select the application status or pensioner information link.
2. Enter your application number, or search by mobile number or Aadhaar number where the portal allows it.
3. Read the stage shown: pending at block level, verified, sanctioned, or rejected with a reason.
4. For a sanctioned case, use the pensioner information report to see the months for which payment has been released.

The portal also publishes district-wise and block-wise pensioner lists, so a family member can confirm that a name appears on the sanctioned list even without the application number.

When is the Uttarakhand old age pension paid?

Old Age Pension is released by the Directorate through the treasury and credited in instalments covering completed months, not always on a fixed calendar date. Where an application is filed at 59 years and 6 months, the department's stated practice is that pension becomes payable from the end of the month in which the applicant completes 60 years of age, so there is no gap between turning 60 and the first credit.

Why old age pension applications are rejected

• Age not established. The age proof does not clearly show 60 years, or different documents show different dates of birth.
• Income certificate above Rs 4,000 a month, or an expired income certificate.
• Bank account not in the applicant's own name, or a non-CBS account, or an account not seeded with Aadhaar. This is the single most common reason a sanctioned pension fails to reach the pensioner.
• Missing Gram Sabha selection or councillor recommendation on the form.
• Duplicate pension. The applicant is already drawing a widow, divyang, deserted woman or farmer pension from the same portal.
• Name mismatch between Aadhaar, the bank passbook and the family register.

Most of these are curable. Correct the document, then submit a fresh or corrected application through ssp.uk.gov.in and follow it up in person with the District Social Welfare Office.

Where to complain about a stopped Uttarakhand pension

• Toll-free helpline of the Social Welfare Department: 1800-180-4236, and the department's mobile and WhatsApp number 63952-21188 for questions about pensions and scholarships.
• District Social Welfare Officer in your district headquarters, for verification delays, rejected files and bank seeding problems.
• Directorate of Social Welfare, Uttarakhand, IT Cell, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony, Adhoiwala, Dehradun 248001, email swditcell[at]gmail[dot]com.
• Chief Minister's helpline 1905 for grievances that the district office does not settle.

Old Age Pension Scheme applications are free. No official, pradhan or middleman is entitled to charge a fee for adding your name to the pension list, and no department staff member will ever ask for your bank OTP.