EPFO ​​High Pension: Will the hope of higher pension end? EPFO ​​can give a shock to 5 lakh people

EPFO High Pension: If you are expecting more pension from the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), then this news may be important for you. After the order of the Supreme Court, EPFO ​​has started the process of giving more pension, but the hopes of about 5 lakh people may be dashed.

Supreme Court order and EPFO ​​​​process

In November 2022, the Supreme Court had ordered the EPFO ​​​​to provide the option of more pension to its subscribers. After this order, EPFO ​​​​set the rules and procedures and now started issuing payment orders. So far more than 21,000 payment orders have been issued, and orders for 1.65 lakh more people are expected to come soon. But there is a possibility of rejection of the application of 5 lakh people.

Which 5 lakh people can be affected?

According to EPFO, the number of employees who are employed with such employers who manage their employees' provident fund (PF) and pension funds themselves is quite high. This is called trust based companies, which get permission from EPFO ​​to manage the fund independently. There are 1,552 such employer organizations in India, most of which are associated with the private sector.

Why can EPFO ​​reject applications?

According to media reports, after the order of the Supreme Court, EPFO ​​has received applications from more than 7.21 lakh employees. But out of this, about 5 lakh applications can be rejected, which is about 65% of the total applications.

The main reason for the rejection may be that there are no clear rules or guidelines available for trust based employers. These employees cannot be considered eligible under the existing high pension rules of EPFO.

Eligibility required to get more pension

• The following conditions are required to be fulfilled to get more pension from EPFO:
• Your EPFO ​​membership should have started after 1 September 2014, or
• If you were already a subscriber of EPFO, your membership should remain active even after 1 September 2014.

How many people applied?

According to the information given by the government in the Lok Sabha, 17,48,768 applications have been received for more pension under the Employees' Pension Scheme-1995 (EPS-95) of EPFO. Out of these, demand notice has been issued in 1,65,621 cases by 28 January 2025, under which the members will have to deposit the remaining amount.

Conclusion

This is a mixed time for those expecting more pension from EPFO. While many people are likely to get the benefit of this scheme, employees of trust based employers may be disappointed. It will be interesting to see how the Supreme Court order and EPFO ​​guidelines evolve further.