Worker representatives call on the Center to speed up the increase in pension payments

Labor Minister and CBT Chairman Mansukh Mandaviya asked the officers present to expedite the processing of pension enhancement applications, File | Photo credit: ANI

Employee representatives in the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) Employees Provident Fund (EPFO)crossing political boundaries, he attacked the EPFO ​​authorities for not implementing the Supreme Court decision on pension hike even after two years.

In a detailed note presented at the CBT meeting held here on Saturday (November 30, 2024), the EPFO ​​said it has issued orders for payment of pensions to only 16,282 of the 17,48,775 subscribers of the Employees’ Pension Scheme who have opted for a higher pension tier. provision. pension. The EPFO ​​said at the meeting that it has rejected 2,60,352 applications so far.

At the meeting, union representatives R. Karumalayan (CITU) and S. Mallesham (BMS) raised this issue. Union Labor Minister and CBT Chairman Mansukh Mandaviya asked the officers present to expedite the processing of pension enhancement applications. He assured union leaders that strict action would be taken against officials who slow down the process. Mr. Karumalayan also raised the issue of increasing the minimum pension in the PF, to which the minister said that the Center is considering various options for this proposal.

This was announced by the EPFO ​​in a progress note on the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment dated November 2022, a copy of which is with us. HinduAccording to him, the calculation of pensions is carried out in the same way as for ordinary pensioners – those who contribute to the salary cap.

No changes to the calculation method.

TOS members questioned the proposal to calculate pensions according to proportionally basis and argued that such a method would be contrary to the verdict of the Supreme Court.

The EPFO ​​note states that “There is no separate formula in the EPS 1995 for members who will be eligible for pension at higher salaries as per the directions of the Supreme Court. Thus, for pensioners who retired from September 1, 2014, the same methodology for proportionally determining pension earnings, based on the average monthly earnings received for the insurance period during the 60 months preceding the date of withdrawal from membership in the pension fund, will be used to calculate pensions at higher wages.”

The EPFO ​​said more than ₹1.8 lakh crore is needed to settle 50% of pension enhancement claims. It states that while the actuarial analysis/study can only be completed once all applications have been finalized, interim actuarial assessments will continue for every 50,000 demand letters issued.

“An assessment of sample data of about 38,000 higher-salary pension claimants shows a shortfall of about ₹9,500 crore, i.e. approximately ₹25 lakh per person. The initial estimate is that approximately a sum of ₹1,86,920 crore will be disbursed from the fund upon settlement of at least 50% of joint options received (cases after 2014).

The EPFO ​​said its head office regularly monitors the processing of applications for validation of joint options by field offices. “Field offices conduct webinars, video conferences and outreach programs to educate job seekers and employers. To date, more than 3,000 meetings/webinars have been held with employers. Dedicated help desks have also been established at all field offices to assist applicants,” the EPFO ​​said.