It has been reported that over 17.48 lakh applications were sent by subscribers/pensioners for higher pension against higher contribution under the Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), the retirement fund body, has reportedly issued over 21,800 pension payment orders (PPOs). It has also asked 1.65 lakh eligible subscribers to put in additional amount to get higher pension.
Field offices have been directed to clear outstanding cases and speed up the process.
Despite the deadline for validating pension applications for higher pension several times, there were lakhs of applications awaiting approval in December of 2024. Therefore, the EPFO had again extended the deadline to 31 January, 2025 giving employers another chance to approve pending applications under the Higher EPS Pension Scheme. Employers were directed by the EPFO to submit responses or clarifications and update information in over four lakh pending cases—where the EPFO had sought more details or additional information or clarifications—by 15 January, 2025.
The deadline for approving pending applications was extended following requests from various employers’ associations for more time to upload the required wage details of pensioners/members.
The EPFO had introduced an online facility to submit applications for validation of options and joint options for higher EPS pension, in February, 2023. This allowed members of EPF to track their application details on the EPFO’s Member Sewa portal using the acknowledgement number.
