EPFO Updates : The work of the Higher Pension Scheme of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) will gain momentum from the beginning of the next financial year i.e. from April-May. For this, the EPFO has set a target to complete the process of all applications by March 31. More than 17 lakh EPF members-pensioners have applied for higher pension.
EPFO Higher PF pension Scheme Updates: The process of execution on the applications given for implementing the Higher Pension Scheme in the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) will be completed by the end of March this year. There are strong indications that from April-May this year, the members who opt for higher pension in EPF will start getting pension.
But, meanwhile, disappointing news has come out for more than 7 lakh EPF members and pensioners. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) says that out of 17.49 lakh applicants seeking higher PF pension in proportion to their salary, 7.35 lakh are not eligible for this benefit.
2.14 lakh applications are still being reviewed
Even after two years of the Supreme Court’s decision on Higher PF pension, only 24,006 persons have received revised pension so far. At the same time, 2.14 lakh applications are still being reviewed by the EPFO, while 2.24 lakh applications are yet to be forwarded by the employers to the agency. Meanwhile, the EPFO has returned 3.92 lakh applications to the employers due to incomplete details, while demand letters have been issued to 2.19 lakh applicants for additional payment.
Kerala lags behind in clearing applications
Kerala has lagged behind in clearing applications for the Joint Option Scheme. So far, only 27.35 per cent of the applications have been processed in the state. At the national level, the settlement rate is 58.95 per cent. Of the 72,712 applications submitted from Kerala, only 19,886 have been cleared. These include rejected applications and those for which demand letters have been issued.
Financial liability is the main reason: EPFO
The EPFO estimates that Rs 1.86 lakh crore will be required to clear at least half of the joint option applications for higher PF pension. The organisation has long cited this financial burden as the reason for the delay in clearances. A sample check of 38,000 applications revealed that granting higher pension would result in a loss of Rs 9,500 crore to the pension fund. The EPFO has said that it will use the data collected to calculate the additional financial liability. These estimates were disclosed in the documents of the recent EPFO Trustee Board meeting.
The scheme has been implemented after the decision of the Supreme Court
EPFO’s famous Higher Pension Scheme is being implemented in accordance with the decision of the Supreme Court on 4 November 2022. Under this, those who applied initially are also getting pension, but after this, the cases of applications sought to give the option of giving higher pension to all the willing members of EPFO have not been fully implemented yet due to many complications.
