Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Goan Seamen Association of India (GSAI) has issued a notice urging all beneficiaries of the Goa Seafarers Welfare Pension Scheme—including retired seafarers and widows—to link their Aadhaar numbers with their bank accounts to ensure smooth and timely pension payments.
According to GSAI President Frank Viegas, the Department of Finance, Government of Goa, has mandated through a recent circular (Ref No. MISC/6/4/2021-Fin (Bud)/part/17600) that all pension disbursements under state welfare schemes must be processed only via Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts through the Aadhaar Payment Bridge (APB) system. Beneficiaries without Aadhaar-linked accounts risk non-payment of their pensions.
Viegas appealed to pensioners to visit their respective banks with their Aadhaar cards to complete the mandatory linking procedure. He further advised them to obtain and submit confirmation of successful Aadhaar seeding to either the NRI office or the GSAI office in Madel, Margao.
The association emphasized the need to complete the process at the earliest to avoid any interruption in pension benefits.
