CPFC Directs to Ensure Credit of Pension to EPS Pensioners by 30th March

Ministry of Labour & Employment
CPFC Directs to Ensure Credit of Pension to EPS Pensioners by 30th March

26 MAR 2020

EPFO makes payment of pension to 65 lakh pensioners every month under the Employees pension Scheme, 1995.

Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC) had directed to process pension payments in all 135 offices of EPFO in advance so that no inconvenience is caused to pensioners on account of nationwide lock down for containing Covid-19 outbreak.

EPFO officers and staff worked with dedication under most difficult circumstances but completed the processing of pension payments in all 135 offices and provided pensioner wise pension payment details for 65 lakh pensioners alongwith requisite cheques to all pension disbursing banks. Link nodal branches of all pension disbursing banks throughout India have been directed to ensure credit of pension in the accounts of pensioners by 30th March, 2020. Thus timely credit of pension at this hour of need has been ensured by all 135 field offices. EPFO is committed to serve its pensioners at all times.

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EPFO issues Directions for timely credit of monthly Pension to EPS Pensioners

The current condition does not cause the pensioners any inconvenience EPFO to generate and reconcile details of pensioners and statement of pension amounts by 25 March 2020 for the current month.

Ministry of Labour & Employment

EPFO issues Directions for timely credit of monthly Pension to EPS Pensioners

23 MAR 2020

EPFO is disbursing monthly pension to more than 65 Lakh pensioners every month under the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995.

Also check: Relaxation in CCS Leave rules 1972 for central government employees - COVID19 - Latest DoPT Orders 2020

Due to the corona virus pandemic, lock down has been declared in various parts of the country. In order to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to the pensioners on account of the prevalent situation, Central Provident Fund Commissioner has directed the field offices of EPFO to generate and reconcile pensioners’ details and pension amount statements for the current month by 25th March, 2020. He further directed that the same should be forwarded to the banks in advance so that the monthly pension is credited into the account of the pensioners in time i.e. during the month of March itself.

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Employees' Pension Scheme (Amendment) Scheme, 2020

EPS Amendment Scheme 2020

Ministry of Labour & Employment
Employees' Pension Scheme (Amendment) Scheme, 2020

16 MAR 2020

Representations have been received from individual Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995 pensioners as well as various pensioners associations raising issue of amendments in EPS, 1995 as well as demands, inter-alia, regarding enhancement of minimum monthly pension and restoration of commuted value of pension.

Considering the demands of EPS, 1995 pensioners, the Government had constituted a High Empowered Monitoring Committee for complete evaluation and review of EPS, 1995. Based on Committee’s recommendation, the Government vide Notification G.S.R. No. 132(E) dated 20.02.2020 has notified decision to restore normal pension after completion of fifteen years from the date of such commutation, in respect of those members who availed the benefit of commutation of pension under the erstwhile paragraph 12A of this Scheme, on or before the 25th day of September, 2008.

The State / UT-wise details of number of employees enrolled under EPS, 1995 at present are at Annexure I.

Annexure I

State / UT-wise details of number of employees enrolled under EPS, 1995

Sl. No.	State / UT	Number of EPS, 1995 Members
1	ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS	46099
2	ANDHRA PRADESH	4894239
3	ARUNACHAL PRADESH	34262
4	ASSAM	1002369
5	BIHAR	1810148
6	CHANDIGARH	2773032
7	CHHATTISGARH	2120580
8	DELHI	19340659
9	GOA	1555143
10	GUJARAT	18925544
11	HARYANA	18840638
12	HIMACHAL PRADESH	1779268
13	JHARKHAND	2438508
14	KARNATAKA	28574372
15	KERALA	3608629
16	MADHYA PRADESH	5579539
17	MAHARASHTRA	48542645
18	MANIPUR	40695
19	MEGHALAYA	120929
20	MIZORAM	10007
21	NAGALAND	24928
22	ODISHA	3533218
23	PUNJAB	4314283
24	RAJASTHAN	6251397
25	TAMIL NADU	28826389
26	TELANGANA	13444683
27	TRIPURA	106403
28	UTTAR PRADESH	11330944
29	UTTARAKHAND	3746454
30	WEST BENGAL	10469959

The State/UT-wise details of the amount distributed under EPS, 1995 during each of the last three years including the current year are at Annexure II.

Also check: MACP - MODIFIED ASSURED CAREER PROGRESSION SCHEME FOR THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES ORIGINAL ORDER DATED MAY 2009

Annexure I

State / UT-wise details of the amount (in Rs.) distributed under EPS, 1995

Sl. No.	State / UT	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
1	ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS	61497107	62773604	70272071
2	ANDHRA PRADESH	1820048399	1837166781	1765949928
3	ARUNACHAL PRADESH	10866361	14758448	14173636
4	ASSAM	773713407	932873353	880834211
5	BIHAR	1653339800	1857398598	1673833899
6	CHANDIGARH	1614396700	2221443125	1841556167
7	CHHATTISGARH	1902541161	2030108245	2028321738
8	DELHI	4444734231	5376402712	5065776244
9	GOA	752720855	778092415	671802182
10	GUJARAT	3799861328	3866846976	3711775330
11	HARYANA	2946290168	2980933921	2643033792
12	HIMACHAL PRADESH	1213953849	1263977324	1177646186
13	JHARKHAND	1745556434	1820142321	1759222457
14	KARNATAKA	4351034413	3917371170	3446372700
15	KERALA	2934012504	3308418201	3250966339
16	MADHYA PRADESH	1552510160	1745126898	1536409360
17	MAHARASHTRA	7314959982	6119175248	4860107122
18	MANIPUR	28115037	40466950	36423753
19	MEGHALAYA	88095948	102186527	90112183
20	MIZORAM	6627577	7585301	7449618
21	NAGALAND	22956418	28794944	29193288
22	ODISHA	1996070775	2198978751	2296623899
23	PUNJAB	1135648802	1214518583	1234162850
24	RAJASTHAN	1951157372	2406231827	2087827011
25	TAMIL NADU	4810558218	4597522638	3885314268
26	TELANGANA	4327407810	4416820213	3745388028
27	TRIPURA	151352846	164311264	179142181
28	UTTAR PRADESH	1697131570	1878477447	1785924637
29	UTTARAKHAND	1287535813	1197591602	1179233249
30	WEST BENGAL	2902303074	2906927989	3074741443

This information was given by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar Union Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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Pension Hike Latest News: Minimum monthly pension of Rs. 3000 after attaining the age of 60 years

Pension Hike Latest News: Minimum monthly pension of Rs. 3000 after attaining the age of 60 years

Ministry of Labour & Employment
Hike in Pension

25 NOV 2019

Government of India in February, 2019 launched Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM), a voluntary and contributory pension Scheme, for the benefit of unorganized workers, as per eligibility. The scheme assures minimum monthly pension of Rs. 3000 to the beneficiaries after attaining the age of 60 years. All unorganized workers, in the age group of 18-40 years, whose monthly income is up to Rs. 15,000 and who are not members of Employees’ Provident Fund Organization or Employees’ State Insurance Corporation or National Pension System (Government contributed) and are also not income tax payers, are eligible to enroll under the Scheme. The subscriber is required to pay the prescribed monthly contribution amount and the Central Government provides the equal matching contribution. This Scheme is implemented through Life Insurance Corporation of India. Enrollment under the Scheme can be done through any of the Common Service Centres across the country.

Also check: Hike Pensioners pay who is at the age of 80 yrs and above of Maharashtra Pensioners from 1.1.2019

Further, vide notification No. G.S.R. 593 (E) dated 19.08.2014, a minimum pension of Rs. 1000 per month has been fixed with effect from 01.09.2014 for the pensioners under Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995 framed under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, applicable to establishments which belong to industries and classes of establishments listed in Schedule-I and where number of employees is 20 or more. No decision has been taken at present to further enhance the minimum pension under EPS, 1995.

Further, Atal Pension Yojana (APY) was launched in May, 2015, by the Government of India, and Indian Citizens between the age group of 18 to 40 years are eligible to join APY through their savings bank account or post office savings bank account. Depending upon the pension plan selected, each subscriber under APY shall receive a guaranteed minimum pension of Rs. 1000/- per month or Rs. 2000/- per month or Rs. 3000/- per month or Rs. 4000/- per month or Rs. 5000/- per month, after the age of 60 years until his/her death.

This information was given by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar Union Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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EPS Pensioners protesting in Delhi on 27 February for the minimum monthly pension

EPS Pensioners protesting in Delhi on 27 February for the minimum monthly pension

 All-India EPS-95 Pensioners Sangharsh Samiti will take out a march from the Jantar Mantar to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in Delhi on February 27 for the minimum monthly pension of Rs 7500 under the scheme.

EPS-95 pensioners from all over the country have been agitating on the issue of raising their pension since the last three years, but the Centre has done nothing except giving hollow assurances, a statement said Friday.

"As per a Supreme Court order, EPS pensioners should be given a higher pension. At present they are getting the pension in range of Rs 200 to Rs 2500 per month, which is meagre in view of rising inflation," the Sangharsh Samiti's Bhopal coordinator R A Dharkar stated.
He said the pension amount should be raised to minimum Rs 7500 per month apart from the DA (Dearness Allowance).

"A rally will be taken out on February 27 from Jantar Mantar to the office of the Prime Minister for our demands," the release stated.

The Samiti also seeks better medical facilities to the EPS-95 pensioners and their spouses. It also wanted that those retired employees who are not part of the scheme be brought under its ambit.
Dharkar claimed the Central government had only given hollow assurances to pensioners.

EPS or Employee Pension Scheme, which was brought into force in the year of 1995, is a guaranteed pension plan supported by the government, wherein the stipulated amount will be remitted to the employee upon retirement, without any changes to the same.

PTI

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98.38 Lakh Employees benefitted through PMRPY

Ministry of Labour & Employment
98.38 Lakh Employees benefitted through PMRPY

07 JAN 2019

Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) was launched on 9th August, 2016 with the objective to incentivise employers for creation of employment. Under the scheme, Government of India is paying Employer's full contribution i.e. 12% towards EPF and EPS both (as admissible from time to time) w.e.f. 01.04.2018 for a period of three years to the new employees and to the existing beneficiaries for their remaining period of three years through EPFO.  The terminal date for registration of beneficiary through establishment is 31st March, 2019.The scheme is targeted for employees earning upto Rs. 15,000 per month. This scheme has a dual benefit, where, on the one hand, the employer is incentivised for increasing the employment base of workers in the establishment, and on the other hand, these workers will have access to social security benefits of the organized sector. Number of Employees and Establishments benefitted as on 31.12.2018 is 98.38 lakh and 1.21 lakh respectively. State-wise employees, establishment benefited and amount of subsidy disbursed is at Annexure.

Annexure

Details from PMRPY Portal from inception till 31-Dec- 2018

< /tr>

State	No. Of Establishment Benefited During Period 01-Apr-2016 to 31-Dec-2018	No. Of Employees Benefited During Period 01-Apr-2016 to 31-Dec- 2018	Subsidy Amount Disbursed During Period 01-Apr-2016 to 31-Dec-2018
ANDHRA PRADESH	8646	780535	2422534115
ASSAM	365	8258	27780925
BIHAR	737	105355	474851209
CHANDIGARH	3612	155769	548215125
CHHATTISGARH	2473	102987	3591706 24
DELHI	5570	628772	2137927962
GOA	352	15343	42488134
GUJARAT	11763	857175	2748520825< /td>
HARYANA	7067	823757	2633467270</ td>
HIMACHAL PRADESH	2565	110997	340391679
JHARKHAND	1110	46635	133283018</ td>
KARNATAKA	7853	963140	3471298051
KERALA	3567	165120	892195708
MADHYA PRADESH	4548	282474	1040402671
MAHARASHTRA	14193	1746468	547061 2241
ODISHA	2169	110975	358483871
PUNJAB	4760	161869	626154768
RAJASTHAN	7601	376834	1029095730
TAMIL NADU	13527	1177433	3816056107
UTTAR PRADESH	12556	689057	2528746729
UTTARAKHAND	2491	243977	64241631 9
WEST BENGAL	3825	285416	787598144
	121350	9838346	3253169122 5

This information was given by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar Union Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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Minimum Pension - Employees Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995

Ministry of Labour & Employment
Minimum Pension

17 DEC 2018

As regards Employees Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995, a minimum pension of Rs. 1,000/- per month has been prescribed with effect from 01.09.2014 for the pensioners under Employees Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995.

In the case of Atal Pension Yojana (APY), depending upon the pension plan selected, each subscriber under APY shall receive a guaranteed minimum pension of Rs. 1000 per month or Rs. 2000 per month or Rs. 3000 per month or Rs. 4000 per month or Rs. 5000 per month, after the age of 60 years until his/her death. If the actual returns during the accumulation phase are higher than the assumed returns for minimum guaranteed pension, such excess will be passed on to the subscriber. As such, the minimum pension depending upon the pension plan selected by the subscriber is fixed under the APY. Under National Pension System (NPS), there is no ceiling fixed for minimum pension.
Further, a High-Empowered Monitoring Committee has been constituted for complete evaluation and review of the EPS, 1995.

There is no provision for Dearness Allowance in EPS, 1995, as it is a self-funded scheme with fixed contributions. Further, Dearness Allowance is not applicable under NPS and APY as the pension under both depends upon the accumulated corpus at the time of exit which is market linked.
This information was given by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar Union Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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Government takes steps to generate Employment Opportunities

Government takes steps to generate Employment Opportunities

Government has taken various steps for generating employment in the country like encouraging private sector of economy, fast tracking various projects involving substantial investment and increasing public expenditure on schemes like Prime Ministe's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) run by Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) run by Ministry of Rural Development and National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) run by Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation.

In order to improve the employability of youth, around 20 Ministries run skill development schemes across 70 sectors. According to the data compiled by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the number of persons skilled across various sectors during 2015-16 were 1.04 crore.

Government has implemented the National Career Service (NCS) Project comprises a digital portal which provides a nation-wide online platform for jobseekers and employers for job matching in a dynamic, efficient and responsive manner and has a repository of career content.

A new Scheme Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) has been initiated by the Ministry of Labour and Employment in the year 2016-17 for incentivising industry for promoting employment generation with the allocation of Rs. 1000 crore. Under this scheme employers would be provided an incentive to enhance employment where the Government will pay the employer’s contribution of 8.33% EPS for new employees. In textiles (apparel and made-ups) sector, the Government will also pay the 3.67% EPF contribution of employers in addition to paying the 8.33% EPS contribution. Government announced a booster package of Rs. 6000 crores for the textile sector which is an employment intensive sector.

This information was given by Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister of State (IC) for Labour and Employment, in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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EPFO plans to hike minimum pension to Rs.2000

EPFO plans to hike minimum pension to Rs.2000

The Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is considering an option to double the minimum pension amount to Rs.2,000. The financial implications of the move are being measured. There were plans to announce the decision before the strike of central trade unions on September 2. However, sources said, the move might have been held back for a rethink on the financial impact in case of hike in pension.

It started when revised actuarial calculations showed that there was a marginal surplus in the pension fund. EPFO caters to the pension of private sector employees and some PSUs. On the basis of the surplus, it was earlier planned to either increase the pension marginally, taking it to Rs.1,250 or provide a one-time benefit. There was also a pending demand to hike the pension to Rs.3,000 a month. This led to the option of hiking the pension to at least Rs.2,000 a month being considered, said a source. There are around 20 lakh pensioners who get the minimum amount of Rs.1,000 at present.

However, the ministry of finance has to be taken into confidence before initiating such a move, said a source. The gap is filled by MoF even for paying Rs.1,000 as minimum pension. This comes to around Rs.1,000 crore a year which is given on piecemeal basis. Once the pension is hiked, the impact will be more. Though the idea has not been entirely shelved, a rethink is under way, said a source.

Meanwhile, the Employees Pension Scheme (1995) Coordination Committee, an association of retired employees, has demanded that government should merge the National Pension Scheme (NPS) with EPS. The former is a contributory pension scheme applicable to government employees having joined service after 2004. "The association argues that since returns on NPS are based on returns on investment which are uncertain, EPS should be preferred. This is because EPS at least guarantees a minimum pension," said Prakash Pathak, general secretary of the coordination committee.

The coordination committee has been lobbying for implementation of the Bhagatsingh Koshiari Committee recommendations which call for taking the minimum pension to Rs.3,000 and also adding dearness allowance to it. The committee's recommendations also call for adding a health benefit, said Pathak.
The recommendations have been lying with the government since 2013 for want of a decision. Our association has been taking up the issue at various fora, said Pathak.

Source : TOI

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Clean up the employees pension scheme

Clean up the employees’ pension scheme

Though a majority of organised workers are covered under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) 1995, there is still very low transparency level. Many readers might not have even heard about it because EPS is not a separate scheme. It is just an add-on to the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) scheme and all EPF members also automatically become EPS members.

The EPS is plagued with several problems. First, the pension provided by it is very low (i.e. minimum pension under EPS scheme now is only Rs 1,000 per month). As per the current structure, pension is fixed based on the formula given below: Average salary for the last 5 years x No of years completed in service 70 All EPF members are eligible for pension after 10 years of contribution to EPS. The pension from EPS is low because the contribution is also low. At present, employees don’t contribute towards EPS. The employer contributes 8.33% of salary ( i .e. basic + Dearness Allowance) towards EPS, the definition of salary here is restricted to Rs 15,000 for employees whose salary (i.e. basic + DA) is above this limit.So for them, the EPS contribution will be restricted to Rs 1,250 per month or Rs 15,000 per annum.

The Rs 15,000 restriction comes at the time of pension calculation as well. If your salary (basic + DA) is above that, pension will be computed only on Rs 15,000. So the maximum pension one can get now (assuming 35 year service) is Rs 7,500.There are reports about EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Organisation) allowing members to contribute more voluntarily to the EPS for getting enhanced benefits after retirement. However, EPS subscribers will be ready to increase their contribution only if the pension is based on the contribution made by the employee throughout the period and not on the number of years last drawn salary . Second, this small pension from EPS (i.e. placed now between Rs 1,000 and Rs 7,500), is not inflation linked like pension for government employees, who joined service before 2004. Since the cost of living increases due to inflation, this “small pension“ now will become “smaller“ in later years.

Third, while employees are complaining about low pension from EPS, the scheme is battling huge deficit. This is because there is no direct linkage between the contribution made by employees and the pension received by them. As of now, EPS is working on the base of new contribution -i.e. contribution from new employees are used to pay the pension for retired ones.Though this may be sustainable for some time because of the demographic dividend in India (i.e. large number of youngsters getting into work force compared to few retired ones), this will not be sustainable in long term. This is because of the expected demographic profile change and the change in employment structure (i.e. more and more companies are hiring people on contract, so they may be outside the EPS ambit). Government doesn’t reveal actuarial valuation of pension liabilities from EPS on regular basis, so only estimates are available on its deficit figures -assumed to be more than Rs 50,000 crore.In addition to cleaning up this mess, government should also release this deficit on regular basis, at least on annual basis, for the sake of transparency .

Source : ET

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Ceiling for Pensionable Salary

Ceiling for Pensionable Salary

As per Para 12(1) of the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995, a member shall be entitled to:

(a) Superannuation pension if he has rendered eligible service of 10 years or more and retired on attaining the age of 58 years.

(b) Early pension, if he has rendered eligible service of 10 years or more and retired or otherwise ceases to be in the employment before attaining the age of 58 years.

In such cases, the amount of pension shall be reduced at the rate of 4 per cent for every year the age falls short of 58 years.

This information was given by Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister of State (IC) for Labour and Employment, in reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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Provision of Minimum Pension of Rs.1000 per month the Pensioners under the Employees Pension Scheme 1995

Provision of Minimum Pension of Rs.1000 per month the Pensioners under the Employees Pension Scheme 1995 

Office Of the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Central Command)
Cariappa Road, Cantt., Lucknow, Pin code – 226002

No.PT/3088/CGDA/Vol-VI

Date: 19-05-2016

To,
1. The Area Accounts Office (CC) Allahabad
2. The Area Accounts Office (CC) Kanpur
3. The Officer in-Charge Pay-I/II/III & Store Audit (Local)

Sub: Provision of Minimum Pension of Rs.1000 per month the Pensioners under the Employees Pension Scheme 1995 – publicity of.

Ref: HQr Office letter No.AT/V/DAD/15001/EPS-1995 dated 10-05-2016.

Please find enclosed a copy of Ministry of Defence. D (Civ-II) Section ID No.20(1)/2016/D (civ-II) dated 01-04-2016 received from HQr office regarding the subject matter is forwarded herewith for your information and necessary action please.
Encl: As above

sd/-
ACDA(PT)

—

Office of the Controller General Of Defence Accounts

Ulan Batar Road, Palam, Delhi Cantt. – 110010

No.AT/V/DAD/15001/EPS – 1995

Dated: 06-05-2016

To
All PCDAs/CDAs
PCDA(CC) Lucknow

Sub: Provision of Minimum Pension of Rs.1000 Per month the pensioners under the Employees pension Scheme 1995 – publicity of.

Please find enclosed a copy of Ministry of Defence, D (Civ-II) Section ID No.20(1)/2016/D (Civ-II) dated 01.04.2016 on the above mentioned subject is forwarded herewith for information and necessary action please.
Encls: As stated above.

sd/-
Rajesh Sharm
S.A.O. (AT/P)

—–

Ministry Of Defence
D(Civ-II) section

Subject: Provision of Minimum Pension of Rs.1000 Per month the Pensioners under the Employees Pension Scheme, 1995 – publicity of

The Employees Provident Funds & Misc Provision (EPF&MP) Act gives the framework for operating three important social security schemes for the workers of the country. These Schemes are (i) The Employees Provident Funds (EPF) Scheme 1952; (ii) The Employees Pension Scheme (EPS) 1995; and (iii) The Employees Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) Scheme, 1976. Under the provisions of the Employees pension scheme, 1995, pension security is provided for the employees who joined on or after 16.11.1995. In order to provide a bare minimum amount as pension which may help towards social security of EPS Pensioners, the Govt had started providing a minimum pension of Rs.1000/- p.m. to the pensioners under the scheme initially form 1.9.2014 for the year 2014-15.

sd/-
(Gurdeep Singh)
Under Secretary

—

Ministry Of Defence (Finance)
DAD – Coord

Room No.24-A, south Block, New Delhi

Sub: Provision of Minimum Pension of Rs.1000 Per month the Pensioners under the Employees Pension Scheme, 1995 – publicity of.

A copy of Ministry of Defence D(Civ-II) Id bearing No.20(1)/2016/D(Civ-II) dated 01.04.2016 on the above mentioned subject is forwarded herewithfor information and necessary action please.

sd/-
(Rajesh Kalia)
SO (DAD Coord)

Source: http://pcdacc.gov.in/

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Minimum Pension – Ministry of Labour & Employment

Minimum Pension – Ministry of Labour & Employment

Minimum Pension

The Government has notified a minimum pension of Rs. 1000/- per month to the pensioners under Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995 vide Notification No. G.S.R. 593 (E), dated 19th August, 2014 effective from 01.09.2014 for the year 2014-15 which is continued beyond March, 2015 without any break.

However, no proposal is under consideration of the Government at present for providing inflation-linked Dearness Allowance (DA) to pensioners of EPS, 1995. The issue of index-linking of pension by fully neutralizing inflation was considered by the Expert Committee constituted by the Government in the year 2009 for review of EPS, 1995 and the same was found not feasible in the case of a funded scheme like EPS, 1995 wherein the contribution of the employer and Government is at a fixed rate of 8.33 per cent and 1.16 per cent respectively. Therefore, the value of benefits cannot be left open-ended by linking it with inflation which is variable.

This information given by Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister of State (IC) for Labour and Employment, in reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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BSNL Clarification regarding Employees Pension Scheme

BSNL Clarification regarding Employees Pension Scheme

BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LIMITED
(A Govt. of India Enterprise)

NO.500-85/CA-II/BSNL/EPF/2011/Vol.VI

Dated 19.01.2016

To,
The IFAs,
All Circles
BSNL

Sub.: Various Gazette Notifications issued by EPFO from Time to Time

This office has been receiving queries regarding Employees Pension Scheme.

In this regard, it is informed that EPFO vide its letter no. Actuarial / 18(2)2008/ Vol.III/7738 dated 29.08.2014 (copy enclosed) has already clarified that henceforth, EPS will apply only to EPF members whose pay at the time of becoming PF member is not more than Rs.15000/- per month on or after 01.09.2014. The entire employer and employee contribution shall remain in the Provident Fund and no diversion to EPS shall be made for all new PF members on or after 01.09.2014 having salary more than Rs. 15000/- at the time of joining.

In this connection, it is mentioned that this office has already issued instructions to act in accordance with the Gazette Notifications issued by EPFO, from time to time, without waiting for endorsement from the Corporate Office as the non compliance of the EPF guidelines attract penal provisions.

It is further mentioned that suitable action may be taken by the circles for rectification of any erroneous deduction made and deposited with EPFO under the EPS head for the employees covered under the above mentioned letter of EPFO dated 29.08.2014.

All BSNL units are hereby requested to kindly take necessary action in accordance with the instructions issued by EPFO.

Encl: As above

(V.M.Gupta)
Dy. General Manager (CA-III)

EMPLOYEES PROVIDENT FUND ORGANISATION
(Ministry of Labour & Employment, Govt. of India)
Head Office

Bhavishya Nidhi Bhawan, 14, Bhikaiji Came Place, New Delhi – 110 066.

No. Actuarial/18(2)2008/Vol.III/7738

Dated: 29.08.2014

To
All Addl. Central P.F. Commissioners (Zones)
All Regional P.F.Commissioners (In-Charge of Region)

Sub: Gazette Notification providing for increase in wage ceiling under EPS 1995 from Rs. 6500 to Rs.10000/- which shall come into force on and from the 1st day of Sept 2014.

Sir.
This is in continuation of this office circular No Actuary/l 8(2)2008/ Vol.111/5905 dated 23.07.2014 wherein it was informed that the Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995 is being amended to increase the wage ceiling from Rs.6500/- per month to Rs. 15,000/- per month in the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995.

2. The proposed amendments have since been noti red vide Gazette Notification No. GSR 609 (E) which shall come into force on and from the 1st day of September, 2014 (Copy of notification enclosed).

3. Accordingly, with effect from the 1st day of September, 2014, the pensionable salary for all cases of exit/death on or after 01.09.2014, for calculating pension shall be the average monthly pay drawn during the contributory period of service in the span of 60 months preceding the date of death/exit from the membership of the Employees” Pension Fund. The pensionable salary shall be calculated on pro-rata basis separately for the period up to 31.08.2014 up to wage ceiling of R.6,500/- per month and for the subsequent period upto the wage ceiling of Rs.15,000 per month. Similarly. the Withdrawal Benefit shall be based on the weighted wages at different wage ceilings. As already informed necessary amendments in the applicable on software are being carried out and the necessary software shall be released by I.S. Division at the earliest.

4. Accordingly, requisite steps may be taken so hat full details of wages for 60 months are available to settle the pension claims in accordance with the proposed modification. In this regard, Form 10-C & Form 10 D are also being redesigned to incorporate the above changes and shall be circulated soon. However in the meantime wage details be obtained by attaching additional sheet or giving details of 60 months of wages along with Form 10-D in respect of all members having date of exit from EPS 1995.

5. The members having date of exit from EPS, 1995 on account of superannuation/option date for commencement of early pension etc. prior to 01.09.2014 shall get Pensionary benefits on the basis of the existing pensionable salary calculations ie by taking 12 months average.

6. Further, with effect from 01.09.2014, wherever employer & employees have opted to contribute on salary exceeding Rs.6,500/- per month such employer & employees will have to exercise a fresh option to contribute on salary exceeding Rs.15,000/- per month subject to the condition that such member would have to contribute the Government’s share of contribution @ 1.16% on the salary exceeding Rs.15,000/- per month from his/her share of contribution. The fresh Option is to be exercised within a period of 6 months. It is essential to know with certainty the employee who are currently permitted to contribute to EPS on higher wages, so that fresh options can be called for. Accordingly, you may immediately flag all such cases of contribution on salary exceeding Rs.6,500/- per month and obtain fresh options in a time bound manner. It may be made known to the existing optees that if the fresh option is not exercised it shall be deemed that the employee has not Opted in allowing contribution over age ceiling and the contributions to Employees Pension Fund made above the wage ceiling in respect of the member shall be diverted to the Provident Fund account of the memer along with interest as declared under the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme from time to time.

7. Furthermore, with effect from 01.09.2014 the provisions for contribution on higher salary has been deleted and as such no new options can be allowed to any member of EPS, 1995 on and after 01.09.2014.
8. As EPS will henceforth apply only to EPF members whose pay at the time of becoming PF member is not more than Rs. l5,000/- per month on or after 01.09.2014 the entire employer and employee contribution shall remain in the Provident Fund and no diversion to EPS shall be made for all new PF members on or after 01.09.2014 having salary more than 15,000/- at the time of joining. This must be ensured as any negligence on this issue may lead to unwarranted litigations.

9. The above actions may be taken without any deviation and officer in charge shall be responsible for compliance of above directions under his jurisdiction.

(This issues with the approval of CPFC)

Yours faithfully,
sd/-
(CHANDRAMAULI CHAKRABORTY)
REGIONAL E.F.COMMISSIONER-I (Pensions)

Click to view the Copy of the BSNL Clarification

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EPS pensioners assured of minimum pension of Rs. 1000 per month

EPS pensioners assured of minimum pension of Rs. 1000 per month

Press Information Bureau,
Government of India
Ministry of Labour & Employment

12-May, 2015

EPS pensioners assured of minimum pension of Rs. 1000 per month

EPFO settles 11.77 lakh claims in April 2015: 77% of EPF claims settled within 10 days.

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation(EPFO) has settled 11.77 lakh claims were settled in the month of April itself. This fact emerged while reviewing the performance of EPFO in the first month of the new financial year 2015-16. According to Shri K.K. Jalan, CPFC showing an improvement in the time taken for settlement, 48% of the claims were settled within 03 days and 77% were settled within 10 days. More than 15 crore annual accounts were updated in the first two working days of the financial year which is a historical first and this was made possible by the adoption of new updated software by the organization.

A decision was also taken regarding continuation of minimum pension of Rs 1000 to the pensioners of EPS, 1995 on a perpetual basis. This move is expected to benefit more than 19 lakh pensioners who would otherwise draw less than Rs. 1000 as pension under EPS, 1995.

Grievance redressal continued to be given top most priority. More than 14,000 grievances were settled in the month of April leaving a balance of 3,354 grievances pending. Of these more than three-fourths were pending for less than 15 days. As grievance monitoring is being done at the highest level in the government under PRAGATI programme, comprehensive guidelines were also issued to further minimize the number of pending grievances.

A conference of the ten Zonal Addl. CPFCs also took place in last month. Several important decisions directly affecting the working of the organization were taken. Top priority is to be accorded to activation of UAN and also to activate e-life certificate, “Jeevan Praman Patra” for EPS pensioners.Use of e-governance tools has to be adopted in all functional areas including compliance management. This would help the organization in better monitoring and also foster a conducive compliance environment It was also decided to initiate efforts for making the members’ passbook on the portal, available in vernacular languages also, for the benefit and convenience of the PF subscribers.

***

PIB

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Increasing Pension Limits Under Employees Pension Scheme

Increasing Pension Limits Under Employees Pension Scheme

Ministry of Labour & Employment

09-March, 2015 15:00 IST

The Government is not considering to enhance the age limit for Employees Pension Scheme (EPS).The Pension implementation Committee (PIC) has recommended to increase the short service pension entitlement age from 50 years to 55 years. The proposal is under consideration of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT),Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF).The proposal, if accepted is likely to decrease the reduction of pension due to short service.

This was stated by Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister of State(IC) for Labour and Employment in response to a written question in Lok Sabha today.

PIB

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Employees Pension Scheme: Details of subscribers and amount distributed

Employees Pension Scheme: Details of subscribers and amount distributed

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 139
ANSWERED ON 24.11.2014

SUBSCRIBERS UNDER EPS

139 . Antony Shri Anto

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:-

(a) whether the Government has any record regarding the number of subscribers under the Employees` Pension Scheme (EPS) in the country;
(b)if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise; and
(c)the details of the amount distributed under EPS during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI BANDARU DATTATREYA)

(a) & (b): Yes, Madam. The State/UT-wise details of membership of Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 are at Annex-I.
(c): The State/UT-wise details of amount distributed under Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 during the last three years and current year (upto June, 2014) are at Annex–II.

 

ANNEX-I

No. of Subscribers under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995

STATE/UT	Subscribers as on 31.3.2014
Andhra Pradesh( including Telangana)	10657225
Bihar	356826
Chhattisgarh	589276
Delhi	11350265
Goa	1168601
Gujarat (including Daman & Diu)	7481829
Haryana	6195965
Himachal Pradesh	1012158
Jharkhand	942549
Karnataka	14907011
Kerala (including Lakshadweep)	2110682
Madhya Pradesh	2913492
Maharashtra	23468307
North East Region	427558
Odisha	2191814
Punjab (including Chandigarh)	5135813
Rajasthan	1178766
Tamil Nadu (including Puducherry)	16622517
Uttar Pradesh	1917405
Uttrakhand	1117299
West Bengal(including Andaman & Nicobar Islands)	4483143
TOTAL	116228501

ANNEX-II

 

Details of amount disbursed under Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 during the last three years and current year (up to June, 2014)

(Rs. in Crores)

 

STATE/UT	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15 Upto June 2014  (Provisional)
Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana)	651.96	747.80	880.70	176.66
Bihar	102.99	162.08	201.49	32.09
Chhattisgarh	90.37	96.07	118.22	7.39
Delhi	420.16	475.94	528.98	139.53
Goa	33.85	36.89	47.80	5.82
Gujarat (including Daman & Diu)	488.95	550.39	660.71	114.15
Haryana	275.80	358.21	422.24	84.34
Himachal Pradesh	47.92	56.97	72.62	14.90
Jharkhand	188.86	162.64	184.12	41.13
Karnataka	815.20	934.00	1121.52	275.53
Kerala (including Lakshadweep)	334.88	365.38	424.00	111.21
Madhya Pradesh	200.06	222.75	259.13	64.33
Maharashtra	1529.71	1966.83	2214.95	435.20
North East Region	63.36	69.10	78.65	10.99
Odisha	126.13	147.93	194.72	44.70
Punjab (including Chandigarh)	229.65	253.17	313.19	65.27
Rajasthan	176.27	201.95	237.62	57.33
Tamil Nadu (including Puducherry)	841.09	1032.76	1552.27	275.37
Uttar Pradesh	496.21	561.10	636.46	62.95
Uttrakhand	68.68	84.81	108.18	29.39
West Bengal (including Andaman & Nicobar Islands)	457.41	551.77	642.75	93.57
TOTAL	7639.51	9038.54	10900.32	2140.83

Source: Loksabha.nic.in

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