According to the Reserve Bank of India, banks should have a visible dedicated counter or a counter that prioritizes senior citizens and those with impairments, including the visually impaired (RBI).
Withdrawal of pension by pensioners who are elderly, sick, disabled, or incapacitated, according to RBI FAQ:
To make it easier for seniors to withdraw their funds/ amounts, banks and agency banks have classified them as follows: Pensioner who is too unwell to sign a cheque / unable to be physically present at the bank.”
Due to a physical defect or incompetence, a pensioner is not only unable to be physically present at the bank, but also unable to leave his or her thumb impression on the cheque/withdrawal form.”
To enable such aged, sick, or handicapped pensioners to manage their accounts, banks are being asked to take the following steps:
It must be verified by two independent witnesses who are known to the bank, one of whom must be a competent bank officer, wherever the old/sick pensioner’s thumb or toe impression is taken.
Where the retiree is unable to leave a thumb/toe impression and is unable to be physically present in the bank, a mark on the cheque/withdrawal form can be obtained, Two impartial witnesses should be present, one of whom should be a responsible bank official. He or she can put a thumb/toe impression on the cheque/withdrawal form when withdrawing the pension, which must be verified by two independent witnesses, one of whom must be a Bank official.
Pension-paying banks shall compensate pensioners for delays in crediting pensions/arrears by charging a predetermined interest rate of 8% per year for each delay after the payment due date.
This compensation shall be automatically paid to the pensioner’s account on the same day that the bank provides credit for amended pension/ pension arrears, in respect of any delayed pension payments made since October 1, 2008, without any request from the pensioner.
Depending on the date of birth available in the bank’s records, Reserve Bank of India has advised banks to convert fully Know your Customer(KYC) compliant accounts to ‘Senior Citizen Accounts.’
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