The Railway Board has notified the Rail Service (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 2026, replacing the Rail Service (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1993. The new pension rules address the key areas of pension and family pension benefits for railway employees, pensioners, and family pensioners after the employee’s death or disability attributable to their railway service.

Under the new railway pension rules, death and disability are divided into four categories: A, B, C, and D. Among them, categories B and D will get extraordinary pension treatment.

As far as family pension is concerned, following the death of a railway employee, eligible family members under Category B will get 60% of the employee’s salary as pension, while those under Categories C and D will receive 100% of the salary.

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For railway employees under the National Pension System (NPS), the benefits depend on the option exercised under the 2025 NPS rules.

The new railway pension rules provide substantial protection against medical board appeals, disability broad-banding, service-related diseases, delayed pension payments, and attendant allowance.

Here, we explain the key features of the Rail Service (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 2026:

Who will get extraordinary pension benefits?

The new rules say that pension benefits will be applicable in cases where:

• A railway employee has become disabled because of service-related circumstances
• A railway employee died due to service-related circumstances
• A family becomes eligible to get an extraordinary family pension
• The employee is disabled but has been retained in service
• The employee was covered under the National Pension System (NPS) but had opted for the relevant benefits under the 2025 NPS rules

The gazette also reveals that no application is required to be submitted for sanctioning disability pension or family pension under the latest rules.

The responsibility lies with the head of office to examine the case based on a medical board’s findings.

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Four categories of death and disability

One of the most important aspects of the notification is that it classifies death/disability into four categories: A, B, C, and D.

Quantum of disability pension for an employee

The Railway Board notification says disability pension of an employee has two components:

1. Service element

Service element for an employee is equal to 50% of emoluments or the average emoluments the employee gets, whichever is higher.

2. Disability element

For an employee with 100% disability, the disability element will be 30% of the emoluments or average emoluments, whichever is higher, for Categories B, C, and D. This means that the pension structure for an employee with 100% disability will be 50% service element and 30% disability element.

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There is no minimum qualifying service required for the service or disability element. If the qualifying service of an employee is below 10 years, the service element will be payable, but service gratuity will not be allowed in such cases.

What will be the family pension under new railway pension rules?

After the death of a railway employee, their family members get a family pension. As per the notification, widow/widower, dependent children, parents, and dependent siblings are eligible to get a family pension.

The family pension amount will be different for A, B, C, and D death categories.

For Category A death

Simple pension rules will apply

For Category B death

Family members will get 60% of the employee’s pay

For Category C and D deaths

Family pension will be equal to 100% of the employee’s basic pay

The Railway Board says that family pension can not be less than Rs 18,000.

Family pension after death of a disabled pensioner

There may be a situation where a railway employee is already getting a disability pension, and the employee dies due to the same injuries sustained during railway work. If such an employee dies within seven years from the date of disability retirement due to the injury or disease that caused the disability, their family will receive an extraordinary pension under the relevant category.

Pension if Railways retains employee despite disability

The notification says that if an employee leaves Railway service because of disability, they can receive a service element and a disability element.

However, if Railways retains an employee despite disability, the employee won’t receive the disability element as a monthly pension, but they will get a lump sum compensation based on the capitalised value of the disability element.

The gazette explains it through an example:

Age: 40 years

Basic pay: Rs 30,000/month

Category B

Disability: 40%

Disability element: 30%

Commutation factor: 9.075

Lump sum amount calculation:

Rs 30,000 × 30% × 40% × 9.075 × 12 = Rs 3,92,040

Protection against pension payment delays

The new railway pension rules emphasise the timely processing of disability and family pension cases.

The notification says that for disability pension cases, the authority is required to issue the Pension Payment Order (PPO) within the prescribed period after receiving the pension case.

The gazette says that if there is a delay in pension payment due to administrative lapse or negligence, the pensioner or the family pensioner should be provided with interest on arrears.