The Ministry of Labour & Employment has earlier said that around 17.48 lakh applications have been received from the EPFO members for the higher EPFO pension scheme. According to recent reports by the EPFO, the organization has issued more than 21,800 pension payment orders recently and directed the members to deposit additional pensions.
This Monday, the Labor & Employment Minister Shobha Karandlaje reported in the Parliament about the PPOs. The EPFO members who wish to know more about the EPFO Pension Scheme can check the full details here.
EPFO Pension Scheme
The EPFO pension scheme allows workers to receive retirement income after they turn 58 or take retirement based on the contributions they made while working. The employees and employer both contribute to the EPFO pensions scheme for the better retirement security of the employee.
Employment Provident Fund Organizations administer the pension scheme and ensure the system is favorable for the workers to help them save their retirement income. In 1995, the organization introduced the Employee Pension Scheme 95, which benefits employees in the organized sector.
The EPS 95 scheme is available for all existing and new members of the EPF and allows the members to receive a higher pension and a fixed minimum pension for the members of ₹1000 to ₹2000 a month to the pensioners. In November 2022, after the Supreme Court ruling, the number of applicants for the EPS95 scheme increased as people demanded.
Now, as per the latest news, the Ministry has updated that over 17.48 EPF members have applied for the Pension scheme to receive a higher pension as they can contribute more under this scheme.
EPFO Pension Scheme Recent Updates
As we mentioned earlier, the Labour & Employment Minister has reported in Parliament that they have issued 21885 pension payment orders for eligible pensioners. The Ministry now urged the remaining 1,65 lakh EPF members to deposit the higher pension amount to their account.
The Ministry reports as of now, on 28 Jan 2025, they have directed 1,65,621 out of the 1.748 applicants to deposit the balance amounts for higher pension entitlement and receive the benefit of the EPD 95 scheme. The government says they are monitoring the other applications; the field officers will process and review the applications.
Earlier, the organizations extended the applicants for the employees to apply for the higher pension scheme to 31 Jan 2025 from Dec 2024. So, the employers who have uploaded the wage details of EPF member applicants before the deadline of 31 Jan 2025 will be entitled to the EPFO higher pension scheme.
How much can you contribute to the Employee Pension Scheme?
As per the current EPFO regulations, the employee can contribute around 8.33% of their wages in the EPS95 scheme for retirement income. The government also supports the employees with their retirement income as they contribute 1.16% of their wages to their pension scheme. The government support will be limited up to ₹15,000 every month.
The 2023 press release of the Ministry directed that the employees who would apply for the higher pension scheme are not required to contribute. The report says the additional government support of 1.16% would be paid from the wage ceiling of the 12% employer’s contribution, which will be divided in the following way:
- EPS Contribution: 8.33%
- EPF Contribution: 3.67%
The organization has invited applications from that time, which has been extended over time. Now, the organization has released the PPOs and announced the number of applications. The applications of over 17 lakh show the member’s interest in applying for the higher pension scheme.
Who can apply for the higher Employee Pension Scheme?
According to the EPFO guidelines, the EPF members who meet the following eligibility conditions can apply for the higher employee pension scheme:
- You should at least have worked for 10 years to apply for the scheme;
- People who have not completed 10 years of service but have been unemployed for more than 2 months can withdraw the EPS amount if they are employed for more than 6 months.
- You have attained the age of 50 years or more but less than 58 years retirement age and you are not willing to reduce your pension.
- The family member/ nominee of the EPF member who died after 58 years of age but has not completed the 10 years of service.
How can you check your EPF payment order status?
The Ministry has confirmed that they have issued a 21,885 pension payment order recently, the EPF members who are eligible to receive the pension or the eligible family members can check the PPO status to ensure if they will receive the payment or not through the following steps:
- You can visit the official website of the EPFO at https://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/index.php
- Now, you should navigate to the Services tab on the homepage and click the For Employees option.
- On the next page, you should go to the Service sections and click the Pension Portal.
- Now, you will be directed to the Pension portal, where you can click on Know your PPO number.
- Once you click Know your PPO no, you will be directed to a new page, where you should enter your PF or bank account number to know your PPO number, pension type, member ID, and other details.
- With this PPO number, you can get the PPO status or inquire about the Payment on your screen on the Pensioner Portal.
The EPFO pension scheme 95 will let the employees contribute more and secure more retirement income. The pensioners should know the organization has released the pension payment order for the eligible pensioners, so you should check your payment status.