The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on June 24, 2026, notified the Reserve Bank of India [Disbursement of Government Pension by Agency Banks (ABs)] First Amendment Directions, 2026, to amend the Reserve Bank of India [Disbursement of Government Pension by Agency Banks (ABs)] Directions, 2026.
The following has been stated:-
•The Reserve Bank of India has issued the First Amendment Directions, 2026, revising the framework for recovery and refund of excess or wrongful pension payments by agency banks.
•Banks are prohibited from recovering excess pension without prior notice, the pensioner’s knowledge, and compliance with applicable legal provisions.
•For bank-attributed errors, banks must immediately credit the excess amount to the Government account, adopt a Board-approved recovery policy, and follow a structured recovery process.
•Pensioners may be asked to provide an undertaking to refund any excess pension received.
•Recoveries may be made through available account balances, capped deductions from the monthly pension, or other mutually agreed methods.
•In cases of Government-attributed errors, banks must act on Government instructions while ensuring express customer authorization for recoveries from account balances other than monthly pension payments.
The detailed notification is given in the document below.
[Notification No.: RBI/2026-27/154 CO.DGBA.GBD.No.S228/31.02.007/2026-27]
