Death Claim Settlement Rules for Post Office Schemes

Death claim refers to the process by which the nominee(s) or claimant of an account holder receives the account balance proceeds of any of post office schemes from the post office upon the death of the account holder.

As per the August 2020 circular, death claims can be settled based on,

1. Nomination made by the account holder
2. Legal evidence produced by the legal heir
3. Without nomination or without submission of legal evidence

Types of Post Office Saving Schemes Covered

Following post office saving schemes are covered for making death cliam.

1. Savings Accounts
2. Recurring Deposits
3. Monthly Income Scheme
4. Time Deposits
5. Public Provident Fund
6. National Savings Certificates
7. Kisan Vikas Patra
8. Sukanya Samriddhi Account
9. Senior Citizens Savings Scheme
10. Mahila Samman Savings Certificate

Eligibility for Death Claim

Following persons are eligible for death claim under post office saving schemes.

Post Office Death Claim Settlement Timeline

All post offices are required for settlement of deceased claim cases as per prescribed timeline/norms i.e. one working day where nomination exists and seven working days in other cases, if the claim falls under its financial powers of the Post Office.

A death claim up to Rs.5 lakhs can be refunded after six months after the account holders's death, if there is no nomination in the scheme.

Here, all the above death claim cases have been outlined with claim settlement rules and documents required.

When Nomination is Registered by the Account Holder

In case of death claim received under any of the post office small savings schemes, if a nomination was already registered and was in force at the time of the account holder's death, the post office will pay the amount to the nominee(s), regardless of the amount and without the production of any legal evidence.

Documents Required

Following documents to be furnished at concerned Post Office by the nominee(s).

• Claim Form
• Death certificate of account holder(s)
• Passbook/certificate of post office scheme
• Identity proof and address proof of the nominee
• Identity proof and address proof of two witnesses

If the last surviving nominee or single nominee is also expired, the claim for the scheme will be determined in favour of the last deceased nominee's legal heirs rather than the legal heirs of the deceased account holder.

Where Legal Evidence is Produced by the Legal Heir

In case of death claim received under any of the post office small savings schemes, if a legal evidence such as probate of will, letter of administration or succession certificate is produced by the legal heir, the post office will pay the amount to the claimant, regardless of the amount.

The High Court issues a copy of the will along with a probate of it and the court seal. Along with the KYC documents, the claimant needs to also submit the legal documentation, claim form and the account holder's death certificate.

Following documents to be produced at concerned Post Office by the claimant.

• Claim Form
• Original/certified copy of legal evidence
• Death certificate of account holder(s)
• Passbook/certificate of account holder(s)
• ID and address proof of the claimant(s)
• ID and address proof of two witnesses

Claim Without Nomination or Without Submission of Legal Evidence

Death claims can be settled for the cases, when no nomination has been made or the claimant is unable to present any legal evidence, and the settlement will be at the discretion of the relevant authority for a maximum claim value of Rs.5 lakhs. The legal heir/successor can file a claim 6 months after the account holder's death.

In the case of separate accounts of PO schemes, the maximum of Rs.5 lakhs will apply to each account.

However, in absense of nomination or legal evidence, if the death claim exceeds Rs.5 lakhs, the claimant is required obtain a succession certificate from the court for the claim settlement.

Following documents to be produced at concerned Post Office by the claimant.

• ​Claim Form
• Death certificate of account holder(s)
• Passbook/certificate of post office scheme
• Affidavit (Form-13)
• Letter of disclaimer (Form-14)
• Letter of indemnity (Form-15)
• Id and address proof of the claimant(s)
• Self attested copy of ID and address proof of two witnesses

Claim Settlement When All the Nominees Have Died

When all the nominees have died then on the death of the last surviving nominee or the single nominee, the claim for the account will be made in favour of the legal heir of the last deceased nominee rather than the legal heir of the deceased account holder.

Procedure for Filing a Death Claim

In order to file a death claim, the nominee/ claimant is required to perform following step-by-step process for claim submission.

• Step 1: Nominee/ claimant should approach CBS Post Office where the depositor was having his post office saving scheme account.
• Step 2: Collect claim form and discharge receipt from that Post Office.
• Step 3: Submit duly completed claim form, discharge receipt and the death certificate in original and other mandatory required documents as mentioned above.
• Step 4: Nominee/ claimant also needs to provide his KYC documents and his own Post Office Savings Bank Account details or bank Account details to transfer the death claim proceeds. KYC documents of nominee/ claimant will be verified with the original KYC documents by the post office.

It is to note that when the signatures of witnesses are available on a copy of the KYC documents, there is no requirement for the physical presence of the witnesses.

Post offices need to check that these dath claim cases are settled within the prescribed timeline i.e. one working day where nomination exists and seven working days in other cases, if the claim falls under its financial powers of the Post Office.