EPFO Members Can Apply For Higher Pension Till May 3 The deadline accordingly should have been around March 3, 2023, but the EPFO only last week came out with the procedure for opting for higher pension under the Employees' Pension Scheme
By Teena Jose
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The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Monday set May 3 as the deadline for subscribers to opt for a higher pension, according to a PTI report. EPFO is one of the World's largest Social Security Organisations in terms of clientele and the volume of financial transactions undertaken. Currently, according to the annual report of 2019-20, it maintains 24.77 crore accounts pertaining to its members.
The Supreme Court on November 4 allowed another change for employees who were existing EPS members as on September 1, 2024, to contribute up to 8.33% of their actual salaries - as against 8.33% of pensionable salary capped at INR 15,000 a month - towards pension, as per the report.
"The joint option for employees who were in service prior to September 1, 2014, and continued to be in service on or after September 1, 2014, but could not exercise joint option under the Employees' Pension Scheme can do so now on or before May 3, 2023," the EPFO said on its website.
The Supreme Court gave a four-month window to enable opting for higher pensions. The deadline accordingly should have been around March 3, 2023, but the EPFO only last week came out with the procedure for opting for higher pension under the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS), stated the news report.
The Government of India reportedly contributes 1.16% to an employee's pension, while employees do not contribute to the pension scheme. EPFO said, "Online facility for filing joint options is coming soon".
The Employees' Provident Fund came into existence with the promulgation of the Employees' Provident Funds Ordinance on the 15th November, 1951. Last week, it is reported that EPFO came out with a procedure to enable subscribers and their employers to jointly apply for a higher pension under the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS).
