The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) added 13.41 lakh new members in October, signalling a rise in employment and greater awareness of employee benefits. The Ministry of Labour and Employment released the data on Wednesday, 26 December, 2024.
Of the total new members, 7.50 lakh were enrolled in October. About 58.49 per cent of these members fall within the 18-25 age group. This amounts to 5.43 lakh members in this young demographic.
This trend aligns with previous data, showing that a majority of those joining the formal workforce are young, first-time job seekers. It highlights the growing employment opportunities in the economy.
Recently, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation once again extended the deadline for validating pension applications for higher pension. The new deadline is now 31 January, 2025. Now, employers have another chance, the last one, to approve pending applications under the Higher EPS Pension Scheme. By this date employers will have to go through the applications to validate options and joint options.
This is not the first time the deadline is being extended. The EPFO had introduced an online facility to submit applications for validation of options and joint options for Higher EPS pension. The facility was launched in February, 2023. The last date for submissions was 3 May, 2023, which of course was thought to be insufficient time. Therefore, the deadline was extended to 26 June, 2023, which was again extended to July 2023 and last year too.
