During the last one week or so, a lot is being written and talked about the last year’s Supreme Court judgement (dated Oct 4, 2016) and its impact on the EPS (Employees Pension Scheme) subscribers and EPS Pensioners.
The Social Media has been abuzz with lot of news items related to ‘higher EPS Pension‘, which have gone viral..
“This man got 1200% hike in his Pension…here is how?“
“Private sector employees can get a higher pension..“
What is this higher EPS Pension news all about? What is the ruling given by the Supreme Court on EPS pension? How to make higher contributions to EPS, to get higher pension during your retirement? What are the eligibility conditions to get higher pension under EPS scheme offered by the EPFO? Should you opt for higher EPS contributions?.. Let’s discuss in this post.
Components of your Employees Provident Fund Account (EPF Account)
If you are a salaried individual and contribute to EPF scheme, kindly take out your monthly pay-slip and check, you can understand that every month 12% of your “salary” is contributed towards EPF account. Your total monthly contribution (Employee’s share) is contributed to Employees’ Provident Fund.
Your employer also contributes 12% of the salary to your EPF a/c. But your employer’s monthly contribution is routed towards various components of PF.
Out of this 12% of your employer’s monthly contribution, 8.33% goes towards EPS (Employees Pension Scheme) and only 3.67% is invested in Employees’ Provident Fund. (Read : ‘How is interest calculated on EPF deposits?‘)
What is the definition of Salary for the purpose of EPF & EPS contributions? – The definition of salary for EPF/EPS is your Basic salary + Dearness Allowance.
So, when we say 12% of your salary that means 12% of your basic + DA gets contributed to EPF.
Similarly, 8.33% of your salary is contributed to EPS. But, the catch here is that there has been a wage ceiling limit for EPS contributions.
Let’s understand this with an example. If your current basic salary is say Rs 30,000. How much do you think would be deposited under EPS? Is it 8.33% of Rs 30,000? – No. Since 2014, the ceiling limit is Rs 15,000. So, 8.33% of Rs 15,000 is only deposited for EPS Pension scheme. So, the maximum contribution to EPS is Rs 1,250 a month (8.33% of Rs 15k).
(Kindly note that anyone who joined the EPF Scheme after 1 September 2014 with a basic salary of over Rs 15,000 per month will not be covered by the EPS. However, this is not applicable in case of ‘change of job’.)
How is EPS Pension calculated?
If you contribute to EPS for a minimum period of 10 years, you will get pension after 50 years (early pension) or after attaining 58 years of age. So, pension is paid out of the accumulated EPS fund.
But, how is your pension calculated? Below is the general EPS Pension calculation formula ;
(Pic courtesy : The Economic Times)
In case, your basic salary at the time of your retirement is say Rs 50,000, even then your pension will be calculated with a wage ceiling limit of Rs 15,000. So, your pension is being capped.
Higher EPS Pension & Supreme Court Judgement order
Under Para 11(3) of Employees’ Pension Scheme 1996 read with Para 26(6) of Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme 1952, it has been allowed that if an employee wants to contribute 8.33% of full salary then he/she can do so towards EPS scheme.
For example : In 1995, if your basic salary was say Rs 10,000 then as per statutory ceiling limit, you can contribute maximum 8.33% of Rs 5,000 (limit as in 1995) towards EPS. But, as per the amendment in 1995, one can apply higher EPS contribution through the employer. In this example, it is 8.33% of Rs 10,000 can be deposited in EPS.
So, no-wage ceiling limit leads to higher contributions to EPS and this enables an employee to receive higher EPS pension. But, very few EPF members were aware of this clause.
A group of employees (R C Gupta, Praveen Kohli and others) made use of this Amendment clause and contributed higher EPS amounts (ie 8.33% of full salary and not based on the ceiling limit). They were then contributing to their exempted EPF trusts.
In 2005, following media reports, several other private EPF fund trustees and employees approached EPFO with the demand to remove ceiling on their EPS contribution and raise it to their total salary. EPFO rejected the demand claiming that the response should have come within six months of the 1996 amendment. Cases were filed against EPFO in various high courts.
By 2016 all except one high court ruled against EPFO stating that the six-month deadline was arbitrary and the employees must be allowed to raise their contributions to pension fund without imposing any cut-off date for eligibility.
(In August 2014, the government however amended the EPS Act of 1995 and deleted the above provision that allowed employees to make a higher contribution and draw pension for the full salary. The same amendment enhanced the ceiling on the salary from Rs 6,500 to Rs 15,000 per month.)
As the EPFO denied the higher Pension for the above said employee group, who approached the court of law in 2005. The Supreme Court gave his final judgement in favor of these employees in Oct 2016. However, the EPFO has implemented this order in Oct 2017 only and paid higher pension to the employees w.e.f Nov 2017.
After the revision of pension by the EPFO, Mr Praveen Kohli’s started receiving Rs 30,500 as pension instead of Rs 2,372.
We need to note that – there is no free lunch in this world. Mr Kohli had to pay Rs 15.37 lakh as the difference between EPS contribution he had made while in service and the contribution he would have made if he was allowed to raise it to his full salary. But he also got Rs 13.23 lakh as arrears for the higher pension that he was entitled to for four years spent in retirement before November 2017.
Based on the above points, let’s see the impact of this judgement under different scenarios ;
- If you have joined in a new job after Sep 2014 and started contributing to EPF Scheme then EPS is not at all applicable to you.
- In case, you have started contributing to EPF/EPS after Sep 2014 with a basic salary of less than Rs 15,000 (current wage limit), EPS is applicable till your basic wage reaches Rs 15k.
- If you have been contributing higher EPS amount (like in the above petitioners’ case) and retired now, but EPFO has denied higher pension, then you have to refund excess EPF withdrawal amount (EPFO would have adjusted higher EPS contribution and paid higher EPF amount) including interest to the EPFO and then can claim higher Pension now. (You have to submit a request to the concerned PF office undertaking to refund excess PF claimed with interest. Your pension amount will then be re-calculated.)
- If you have been contributing to EPF scheme prior to 2014, you can submit an application through your employer to the EPFO that you would like to contribute 8.33% of full salary instead of statutory limit. The higher contributions can be accepted from the date of your application and may not be retrospectively.
- A word of Advice : If you are young (or) have say 10+ of years for your retirement, may be it is prudent to invest in right investment options to build your retirement corpus than to increase your contributions to EPS.
- Kindly do note that ‘Pension income’ is a taxable income. So, instead of investing in EPS, you can look at other alternative investments which are more tax efficient.
- The pension income generated by your EPS is not an inflation-adjusted one. It is a pre-defined and fixed monthly pension amount.
- There has also been news that EPFO will be eventually merged with NPS (this may not happen that easily owing to pressures from the Trade Unions).
- In case, the contribution to the EPS account is increased with retrospective effect to give pension on full salary, a commensurate amount needs to be transferred from the employee’s EPF account to EPS account. Besides this, the interest earned by the money for the period it remained with EPF should also go to EPS.
- In case, you are about to retire in a few years from now and have not built adequate retirement kitty, you may consider opting for higher contributions to EPS.
- If you are a retiree and contributed to EPS as per ceiling limit then it is unlikely that you will be going to get a revised pension. The reason being, you are no longer a part of EPS and there is no employer involved.
The Supreme Court’s judgement will definitely have an impact on the EPFO’s balance sheet. If more EPF subscribers opt for higher pension then the organization can be in for a financial trouble. May be this is the reason why the EPFO has already announced that employees of the Exempted Organizations (where PF is administered by the Private Trusts) can not apply for higher EPS contributions. (Nearly 80 lakh of the estimated 5 crore members of the EPS work in exempt organisations. EPFO may have to face some legal challenges in implementing this rule as well.)
We can also notice that the EPF has already started receiving RTI complaints on this topic, below are few for your reference.
- RTI filed by Parveen Kohli (one of the petitioners).
- An RTI to know details on Exempted Organizations & EPS Contributions.
You may download the EPS pension calculator from this link and check if it is worth to make higher contributions to EPS or not!
(Source : www.freefincal.com)
You can download the Supreme Court Judgement order by clicking on the below image.
Kindly do share your views on the Supreme Court’s ruling on EPS contributions. In case, you find any details in the above article need to corrected/changed, kindly do let us know. Cheers!
Continue reading :
- Lump sum Investment options for Retirees/Senior Citizens | Where to invest my Retiral benefits to get Regular Income?
- EPS Pension Commutation (or) Lump-sum Part-Withdrawal of EPS Pension | Latest Amendment (2019)
- Latest Update (01-Mar-2019) : As per the Supreme Court judgement, employers cannot segregate ‘special allowance’ from basic wages for purpose of PF deductions.
- Cash allowances (dearness allowances) including but not limited to travel allowance, canteen allowance, special allowance, management allowance, conveyance allowance, education allowance, medical allowance, special holidays, night shift incentives and city compensatory allowances to employees are part of ‘basic wages’ for calculation of Provident Fund contributions.
Latest Update (01-April-2019)
As per the latest Supreme Court ruling, the existing EPF members can subscribe to Higher EPS contribution to get higher EPS pension during retirement phase. Even the retired EPF members (I am not very sure about the PF members who retired before 2014) can contact their ex-employers for higher pension. The retirees have to submit a request to the concerned PF office undertaking to refund excess PF claimed with interest. Your pension amount will then be re-calculated.
(References : The Economic Times, EPFO circulars & Freefincal.com) (Post published on 27-Nov-2017)
Dear Sir,
I’m an International Worker who joined a company in India in July 2017. I was not a member of EPF prior to that. My company is putting 8.33 percent of the employer PF contribution into EPS. It is being calculated on my full salary and is not capped at 15000 like it is done for Indian citizens. Therefore the hit is very high.
1. Since I joined after September 1 2014, should I not be excluded from EPS?
2. Can I not exercise an option to NOT have any thing go to EPS? The reason is that I won’t be working in India for the required 10 years so I’ll never be able to qualify for the pension.
Thanks for your counsel.
Dear Andrew,
1 & 2 – An employee can opt out of EPF scheme when he/she is newly joining a employer for the first time. Once it is opened, employee has to contribute to it during his employment (if employers offer this scheme).
You may kindly check with your employer again and can also submit your grievance to the EPFO as well via this link…
DEAR SIR
I lost my husband in aug 2012 with a total length of service of 16 yrs of service in same orgaisation contribution to the epf on full salary whereas my pension was calculated on 6500 I approached to the grievance authority they didn’t reply me properly and said rule was at that time 6500 and you checkwith your husband employer whether they allowed or not for excess contributon in eps
can I file a case
Dear Renu ji,
Suggest you to kindly check with the EPFO as well before filing a legal petition.
EPFO grievance portal link ..
Dear sir, recently I approached my employer, they are saying still it is not implemented in EPFO, is that true
This I came to know when I requested my employer to forward my eps on actuals
Dear Sriram,
There is lot of confusion and no clarity on this issue. I have read in news that EPFO is approaching the court again on this matter.
You may submit your grievance to the EPFO via this link ..
Hi Sreekanth, Can you please send me the link where I can raise the grievance as my employer has recently sent me a note saying:
Form Rejection Reason : Claim Rejected by RPFC Pune
Is it something still not getting implemented by EPFO and RPFC?
Still EPFO and RPFC are not clear if they are implementing the supreme court order?
Any Idea when the RPFC will allow to opt for higher EPS option for employees who have been contributing to EPS as members before the 2014
as specified by you: have been contributing to EPF scheme prior to 2014
• If you have been contributing to EPF scheme prior to 2014, you can submit an application through your employer to the EPFO that you would like to contribute 8.33% of full salary instead of statutory limit. The higher contributions can be accepted from the date of your application and may not be retrospectively.
Dear Sriram ji,
Here is the EPFO grievance portal link..
Yes, as mentioned in my comment, there is no clarity on this issue..
I have resigned before SEP 2014 .now I am claiming for EPS withdrawal. How much wage will be considered either 6500 or 15000 as my basic is 13000 when I resigned i. e before SEP 2014
Dear Saravanan ji,
Are you making full EPS withdrawal? or applying for EPS pension?
May I know your total service period?
Full EPS withdrawal 4 years
Dear Saravanan,
You can withdraw full EPS balance after 60 days from date of leaving your Service.
Kindly go through this link on components of EPF account..
Dear sir ,
My doubt is whether 6500 or 15000 basic wage will be considered.
Dear Saravanan .. the maximum in your case would be Rs 15,000.
SIR,
I AM CONTRIBUTING UNDER STATUITORY LIMIT IN THE PENSION CONTRIBUTION(EPS-A/C-X) AS WELL AS EPF A/C -01 W.E.F.2007 .
CAN I AVAIL HIGHER PENSION AFTER DEPOSITING DIFFERENCE AMOUNT IN EPS AND EPF. W.E.F. 2007 ?
Dear Mr JHA,
You can try submitting an application for higher Pension to the EPFO through your employer..
Related article : EPS Pension Commutation (or) Lump-sum Part-Withdrawal of EPS Pension | Latest Amendment
On dated 31 Jan 2018, I have been superannuated but pension claim has not been made so far. During my association as EPF member, my contribution under EPF and MP Act 1952 was on the basis of maximum ceiling of basic salary of Rs. 15000/- per month (Rs. 1250/- per month). Since I were intended to avail pension on my full wages (after ignoring ceiling deduction for pension @ Rs.15000/-month) in line with direction given by Hon’ble Supreme Court in SLP no. 33032-33033 of 2015 (R.C.Gupta and other V/S Regional Provident Fund Commissioner ), and subsequent guideline no. ACC/HQ/Pension/Distribution of Work issued by Addl. Central P.F. Commissioner (Pension) dated. 8th June 2018, therefore I had submitted my request letter with Form 3A (from two companies). My employer had forwarded my request with recommendation to Regional Provident Commissioner Pune, for considering my request of Pension on higher wage, under guidance given by above said verdict of Supreme Court of India and departmental guideline vide letter dt.11th Mar.2019.
In response, Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, Pune has informed to my employer that my pension request on higher wages cannot be considered, as the employee has superannuated after 01.09.2014.
Hon’ble Supreme Court has upheld the decision of Kerala High Court in W.P. (C) no.13120/2015 (P. Shashi Kumar v/s Union of India & Others, where notification regarding eligibility date i.e. 1st Sep.2014 has been quashed. Whether said verdict is applicable for Provident Fund Organization? If so, how we can be debar to avail benefits of Pension on higher wages on ground of superannuation after 01.09.2014.
Please advise the next course of action.
Regards.
Dear Arup ji,
There is no much clarity on this issue!
I have read that EPFO has not been accepting the ‘higher pension’ requests and planning to approach the Court again.
dear sir,
at present iam in private service now I have 7 years service to retirement, now aim getting 50000 monthly salary after my retirement iam eligible higher pension og not
Dear ramreddy ji,
You can apply for higher pension through your employer to the EPFO.
Kindly check this with your employer..
Dear Sir,
I am regular reader of your article.This is really good article about EPS scheme.I have few questions regarding EPS scheme—-
1. As per my understanding,court just increased the contribution amount of employee.How will be the distribution pattern after this judgement towards EPS & EPF and is it mandatory for employer to increase the share amount in proportion to his employee. It will be great help if you illustrate with example.How it will affect on PF corpus amount from employee point of view?
2.What will happen to EPS pension corpus amount if employee die in between? or if he is getting pension for some years after that his nominee will get half of that pension then after that ,Will the remaining portion is given to legal heir of that employee or it kept towards EPFO office?
3.Wheather employee is getting interest on EPS contribution amount? If not,then will it not be a detrimental to employee if he increases the contribution to EPS.
Dear Sagar ji,
1 – It is not mandatory to increase the contribution to the EPS corpus. It is optional thing given to the employees.
2 – Pensioner receives a pension for life long and upon his death will go to spouse/nominee and/or two children below 25 years of age.
3 – No interest is payable on EPS corpus.
Related articles :
* Nominee Vs Legal Heir : Who will inherit (or) own your Assets? | Importance of WILL
* EPF a/c interest calculation : Components & illustration (Employees’ Provident Fund)
Dear Sir,
Thanks for the reply.Still I am having some doubt,it will be great help if you take some time to clear it—-
1.)It is optional for employees but what about employer contribution after court decision that made employees to increase their contribution to EPS.Is it mandatory or optional for employer to increase contribution by same percentage as that of employee?
2.)Pension goes to nominee/spouse after death of pensioner but what happen after the death of that nominee/spouse. I read somewhere that,the corpus amount will not get back to any one after the death of pensioner and nominee/spouse.As in NPS corpus amount is returned to legal heir/next nominee mentioned.
Once again thank you for your reply.
Dear Sagar ji,
1 – Kindly note that 12% of your “salary” is contributed towards EPF account. Your total monthly contribution is routed towards Employees’ Provident Fund only.
Your employer also contributes 12% of the salary to your EPF a/c. But your employer’s monthly contribution is routed towards various components of PF.
Out of this 12% of your employer’s monthly contribution, 8.33% goes towards EPS (Employees Pension Scheme) and only 3.67% is invested in Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF). So, you contribute 12% of your basic salary and your employer contributes 3.6% of your basic salary towards EPF deposits.
As of now the statutory limit is 8.33% of basic salary ie Rs 15,000 goes to EPS. As per the Supreme court order 8.33% of actual salary can be used for calculation purposes.
2 – Yes, I too believe that there is no return of corpus in EPS case.
April 6, 2019
Dear Sreekanth Ji,
I would like to thank you for your service in helping people increase their financial knowledge.I have the below queries.
I have been contributing to EPF scheme from 1982 to MNC owned PF trust & took retirement in 2014 & have not withdrawn pension as well as PF till date.My current age is 58 +.
1. Can I request my past employer to increase my EPS contribution?
2. What is the amount of pension I can receive after retirement as per this process?
Thanking you in anticipation.
Dear SATISH ji,
Suggest you to kindly contact your ex-employer on this.
You may be eligible for higher pension. The retirees have to submit a request to the concerned PF office undertaking (through employer) to refund excess PF claimed with interest. Your pension amount will then be re-calculated.
Recent Supreme court ruling on Employees provident fund Pension requires some clarification. First of all ,all amendments done by EPFO in 1996 and 2014 are nullified by the Supreme court. Some articles seen in various newspapers, say average calculation of pension is based on 60 months total salary or 12 months total salary (EPF gross) ie salary means Basic+ conveyance allowance , of course HRA exempted. In my case purely based on Basic , epf is calculated . I wish to know what is the basis for average salary as per the court ruling.
Dear Mr Nair,
Now, the actual contribution or Rs 15000 whichever is lower will be the base for pension calculation and for the period prior to Sept, 2014, the average of pension qualifying salary for 5 years will also be taken.
Related link : Pension Fund Of EPFO After The Supreme Court Verdict.
The EPFO has recently released two ciruclars. I am unable to interpret them. If possible, kindly go through them and share your views;
* Circular – 1
* Circular – 2
Dear Sir,
My father retired on 28/07/2005 and worked 40 years and as per EPF PPO passbook his joining in EPF 1995 scheme is shown as 16-11-1995 and now he is getting Pension Ra. 1294/- per month and his wages on 15-11-1995 is Rs. 2707/- and wages on date of exit Rs.6481/-,, I want know benefit if increase of pension or other benefits as orders of Supreme Court.
Dear Atul..I believe that he may not be eligible for higher pension..
“If you are a retiree and contributed to EPS as per ceiling limit then it is unlikely that you will be going to get a revised pension. The reason being, you are no longer a part of EPS and there is no employer involved.”
Dear sir
my father retired since 2010 but i cant no my establishment is exempted company.My father company name was Orient paper mill amlai branch pls help regard
Dear Mannu,
You can suggest your father to contact ex-employer and submit withdrawal claim request.
Hi,
I am 29 yrs old and joined epf in 2011. As per my understanding of your blog, i am eligible for enhanced contributions>1250 (basic > 6 lpa).
I have one question.
Since monthly pension calculation formula is only considering contribution for last year (or last 5 years ~ read in some other blog) before retirement, does it make sense to increase contribution right away? Wont it be economically better if we ask for increased eps contribution to employer sometime before retirement.
Dear Ravi,
Who knows what could be the rules by then??
My office people said EPFO is declining this for many employees citing there was a timeline of 1 year for those who were already giving enhanced contributions before 2014-15. So, in my case they are not going to allow enhanced contribution
Iam EPF Member since 2005 and contribution is made based on actual salary since 2007 but eps contribution is made on cieling amount only.
Is iam elgible to contribute higher eps amount now based on actual salary so as to get higher pension after retirement.
Establishment is not under exempted pf trust .
Dear Sreenivasa,
If you have been contributing to EPF scheme prior to 2014, you can submit an application through your employer to the EPFO that you would like to contribute 8.33% of full salary instead of statutory limit. The higher contributions can be accepted from the date of your application and may not be retrospectively.
Kindly contact/check with your Employer.
You may kindly share your experience here, can be useful to all the blog readers. Thank you!
Hi Sreekanth,
I am working in MNC for past 7 years and contributing to EPF & EPS (8.33) on actual salary above the ceiling limit. This enhanced contribution was a mandatory requirement as I have returned to India for good after acquiring US citizen and hold OCI card (overseas citizen of India). I am treated as International Worker from epfo. My question is will I get more monthly pension on retirement, cos my EPS corpus is very big compared to my colleagues and I am worried whether I will loose out in the end because of strange laws…if allowed I would rather quit now and pull out the EPS corpus amount and invest in NPS or something….please advice…Thanks
Dear Venu ji,
Kindly check with your employer, if you are eligible for higher pension..
Have you retired or still contributing to EPF scheme?
Hi Sreekanth, Thanks for the quick reply. I have 10 more years to reach full retirement age. btw I have quit and looking for a next job…after I quit, the company also legally closed after approaching NCLT. Now I am confused whether to withdraw, take scheme cert OR transfer PF to the new company in future when I land in new job?
Dear Venu,
If you are planning to take up a new job, and if that company offers EPF scheme then suggest you to transfer the funds from old EPF account to new EPF ac.
Dear Sreekanth,
I am retired school teacher from a private school and getting epfo pension under scheme 95 just Rs.1439/-pm wef 2013. Is my pension can be enhanced if minimum pension increased? What are the chances?
Dear Chittra .. I believe that you may not be eligible to receive higher EPS pension….
Dear sir, I joined private college as lecturer in 1980. Served for 30 years and retired in 2010. I contributed to PF for almost 29 years. After retirement, my pension was fixed at ₹ 1583. Am I eligible for higher pension. Is the Management of the college legally bound to contribute on the basis of higher wage. If it denies to contribute its portion on basis of higher wages, what to do?
Dear Shivsharan sir,
As you are a retired person and if have contributed as per minimum threshold limit to the EPF scheme then you may not be eligible for higher pension.
EPF DEPARTMENT RETURNING THE APPLICATION FOR HIGHER WAGES PENSION SAYING NOT ATTACHED 3A 6A WITH APPLICATION. HE SAY EMPLOYER TO SUBMIT 3A 6A FROM BEGINNING WHILE ALL DATA IS WITH THEM AND OLD WORKER PENSION FIX ON THESE 3A& 6A IT IS HARASHMENT OF EMPLOYER AND PENSIONER WHO ELGIBLE FOR HIGHER WAGES PENSION
Dear Rajender ji,
Agree with your views.
Suggest you to kindly approach your employer. In case, no support from employer & EPFO, you may let them know that you may approach the concerned Labor court in this scenario..
I have joined pvt company in 1983 and taken VRS in the year 2004, at the time of VRS i was 44 years of age and getting around Rs 6500/ month salary .After 50 years of age pension fixed of Rs 964/ month till date. Please tell me i am eligible for higher EPFO pension.
Dear NAGARAJ ji..You may not be eligible for higher EPS pension. You may contact the EPFO.
My service is from 19/06/1985 to 30/06/2018…and a member of epf can I apply for higher pension scheme….as my eps is capped all this years
Dear Vinay ji,
I believe, you may not be eligible for higher pension..
Kindly go through the points given in the above article..
Dear Sreekanth,
I had applied for PF withdrawal. The application status is indicated as “Rejected” and the reason is as below.
Please can you help me with the message and kind of document they are requiring me to submit.
“Claim-Form-19 (EPF Final Settlement)(Resign) Claim id-TNMAS180600012790 Member id-TNMAS00524660000000947 has been rejected due to :- MEMBER WAGES IS HIGHER EPS CONTRIBUTION MERGED WTH EPS CONT HENCE YOU ARE REQUESTED YO SUBMIT DOCUM/OK”
Thank you,
Murali
Dear Murali,
Even I am not sure.. You may kindly contact your ex-employer (or) submit your grievance to the EPFO online for more information on this ..click here..
In case, you receive a resolution to this issue, kindly share the info here, can be useful to all of us! Thank you!
I am eligible for higher Pension as per as SC orders. But my ex employer is not ready to sign my application. Is there any solution. EPF is already may be having my all details of pension etc. Please advice me in this matter.Regards
Dear Rajeev ji,
You may let them know that you may approach the concerned Labor court in this scenario..
Dear Sirs,
I am employee of M/s Godrej, an exempted organization retired in May 2016. My company has checked with EPFO Mumbai. They have informed that members of exempted organization are not eligible for higher pension.
Sir kindly clarify as to whether we are eligible and if so what action we need to take.
Regards,
Dear Prabhakar sir,
The EPFO has already announced that employees of the Exempted Organizations (where PF is administered by the Private Trusts) can not apply for higher EPS contributions.
You may have to consult a lawyer who practices Labor law and check if you can take legal route..
In my case for enhanced pension, the following conditions are met. 1. The establishment should not be an exempted establishment. Mine was an unexempted establishment. 2. Contributions should have been made on actual salary. Contributions were on actual salary in excess of ceiling amount. 3. Superannuation should have happened before 214. In my case it happened in 2011. But 1) I have applied only for the enhanced pension only. 2) Employer-establishment is not cooperating due to more than one M&A. What are my chances on merits?
Dear Ramamoorthi ji,
May I know, what is M&A??
Sorry. It was my fault. Merger and acquisitions.
Dear Ramamoorthi ji,
Based on the information provided, you may be eligible for higher pension.
Suggest you to check with the EPFO directly.
In case, both of them (your ex-employer & EPFO) do not provide support, you may have to approach the Labor court.
Thank you very much.
Dear Shrikant Garu,
I was superannuated from service of NCCF, H.O. New Delhi, an uexempted category of establishment on 31.03.2008. My pension (Rs. 1860/- at present) is regulated by EPFO, Bandra, Mumbai.. I have contributed PF on higher wages in excess of Rs.6500/- which was admitted by EPFO from 16.11.1995 to 31.03.2008. I have already submitted my option/declaration with regard to payment of contribution with interest to NCCF and also to EPFO, Dwarka, New Delhi to which it is attached.
My employer – NCCF is not cooperating to forward Form 3A to Dwarka office, resulting delay of more than a year.
Now since EPFO has issued fresh circular dated 08.06.2018 to their regional offices to work out pension by utilizing 10 D module – software. Could you please guide me as to whether the local R.O. can work out contribution and arrears and Revised pension amount without getting instruction from my Employer and Dwarka office?
Regards,
M. Dhanraj, General Manager (Retired), At Mumbai
Dear Moses Ji,
Suggest you to contact the EPFO regional office directly.
You may also submit your grievance to the EPFO..click here..
In case, your employer is not supportive, you may approach the Labor court as the last resort.
Since you may be having data, you may prepare 3A form and get it signed by the employer, so that you can satisfy the document requirements of EPFO….
Dear Ram ji,
What is 3A form?
Dear Srikant,
I am working in L&T since 2007. My EPF is maintained by L&T EPF Trust where as EPS is with EPFO. Can I apply for enhanced pension. Regards, Ashok Kumar
Dear Ashok,
If you have been contributing to EPF scheme prior to 2014, you can submit an application through your employer to the EPFO that you would like to contribute 8.33% of full salary instead of statutory limit. The higher contributions can be accepted from the date of your application and may not be retrospectively.
Sir, I am a REGULAR employee of District Rural Development Agency(DRDA) autonomous body of Rural Development Department since 1st June, 2002. Now my salary basic pay is Rs.28000/month(Officiating pay +GP) . Total Amount is Rs. 55000/-per month
I am under EPS since 1/06/2004 will be retired on Jan,2037
As per my EPS pass book upto December’2017;-
1.Employees share.Rs. 605663/-
2. Employer Share Rs. 425792/-
3. Pension contribution Rs. 107010
No any withdrawn till now.
I want to know that may I opt for Higher Pension or not?
my contact no. 094360806**
Dear Sreejesh,
If you have been contributing to EPF scheme prior to 2014, you can submit an application through your employer to the EPFO that you would like to contribute 8.33% of full salary instead of statutory limit. The higher contributions can be accepted from the date of your application and may not be retrospectively.
Kindly contact your employer.
Dear Sreekanth, I am a retired teacher in a private college. Under EPs 95 , the managent and myself have contributed statutory minimum amount to epfo.I retired on 31.7. 2010 and getting monthly pension of ₹1593/- only. Can I get enhanced pension if I and management contribute to epfo difference amount (12%) retrospectively?
Dear Sir,
I believe you may not be eligible for higher pension.
However, you may re-check this with your ex-employer or with the EPFO.
DOJ- 12/03/2011 at EPF & EPS in EPFO
Date of retire- 2046
current basic +da- rs. 28000/-
Please provide me following information in detail :-
1) As per my above details whether I would be able to exercise my option to Actual salary Pension as per your order no. I/12/33/eps amendment/96/vol.ii/34007 dtd:- 23.03.2017 at my age attaining to Superannuation i.e at the age of sixty.
2) Detail calculation with an example of pensionable salary as per Actual Salary Pension .
4) Detail calculation with an example of pension as per Actual Salary Pension .
Dear Sujit ..You may kindly consult your employer or EPFO.
They are unable to say, please give your info
I am Member of EPFO since 1980. I retired on 30-11-2014. The employees retired upto 01-09-2014 are getting higher pension as per supreme court order. My application for higher pension is summarily rejected by EPFO Bhopal stating that Supreme Court Order for higher pension not applicable for employee retired after 01-09-2014. It is stated that EPS 1995 clause 11.3 related to award higher pension is removed by EPFO order dated 28-8-2014. Employees three months senior to me are getting higher pension almost 10 times more than me. What can be done to get Higher Pension?
Dear Rajeev ji,
If EPFO has stated the reason for rejecting your application then nothing much can be done from yourside.
May be you may have to take this through legal route. You may consult a Civil lawyer.
Dear sreekanth,
My date of birth is 30.07.1956 and I started working in pvt companies since Aug’ 1979 onwards till Dec’2017, for 38 years., and worked with 7 companies., 3 exempted and 4 unexempted companies.
A) Initially worked for 12 years in two exempted companies from 1979 to 1991.
B) And worked with an unexempted company for 11 years in April’1992 to Nov’2002., in the same company, started EPS from Nov’1995 till Nov’2002 for 7 years.
C) Again worked with an exempted company for 4 years from Mar’ 2004 to Feb’2008.
D) Later worked with Three unexempted companies for 8 years, from Mar’2008 to Dec’2017.,
So overall EPS paid Rs 541/00 only from Nov’1995 ( 39 years of age) to July’2014 ( 58years of age ) for 19 years with the ceiling on salary as Rs 6500/00 ( though my actual salary was Rs 1,25,000/00 as GM of a factory)., taken out 4 years of unexempted company working in between.
Hope I am eligible for Higher Pension if I opt for higher EPS contribution to 8.33% of Rs 1,25,000/00 on last drawn salary.
Request to confirm my eligibility and what action I have to do, please advise.
Dear Ravi ji,
As you are a retired person and have n’t contributed higher EPS amounts, you may not be eligible for higher Pension. You may kindly contact your ex-employer(s) and/or EPFO as well in this regard.
Dear Sreekanth ji,
you could not gothru my message, I am retired on 31.12.2017 and my PF papers are being processed at EPF office, thru my last employer.
My EPS the last contribution was at the close of 58 years by 31st, July 2014., and I am applying for the pension now, little late to apply.
However, in my understanding, my case also similar to Mr.Praveen Kohli, as my EPS also paid with the statutory ceiling, since Nov’1995 ( 39 years of age) to July’2014 ( 58 years of age) and last paid EPS in July’2014 was 541/00 only when my basic was higher Rs 1,25,000/00 ( 58years of age )., actually my employer contribution could have been Rs 10,412/00 ( 8.33% of 1,25,000/00 my salary against Rs541/00.
Now as my PF also not yet withdrawn from EPF office, maybe I want to apply for higher EPS contribution difference amount could be transferred from my PF itself.
Request you as professional go thru’ once again and confirm, and support my thinking, so that I can approach the EPF office positively, with a letter request for the Higher pension.,
Ravi SV
Dear Ravi ji,
As on date, you are a Retiree – If you are a retiree and contributed to EPS as per ceiling limit then it is unlikely that you will be going to get a revised pension. The reason being, you are no longer a part of EPS and there is no employer involved. This is my personal view.
Kindly contact your employer or EPFO.
sreekanth, Here we have to get clarified who is retiree.. is it meaning beyond the age of 58 years your EPS stops called a retiree., irrespective of you are servicing still and PF is deposited to EPF or not.. not understand clearly, because Pension is nothing to do with PF., pension stops at 58 but PF may continue as long as you are working., and your employer connection is still on, I would also try to get clarification on this point from my sources as well.
My understanding still, the Higher Pension is the certain time frame related, EPS-1995 scheme, from 01.09.1996 to 01.08.2014, who won the case in supreme court after paying a higher contribution to EPS to 8.33% thru exempted trusts from Employer contribution ., while they were in service., but the judgement has come later in 2017.
Now persons whose service falls within that same above time frame to be clarified as a possibility still as under: left to the courts but EPF offices could not tell and they are in doubt whether to accept your papers for Higher pension due to uncertainties as below :
1) Few employees could not pay higher contribution till 58years ( before Aug’2014) due to various reasons like employer & EPF not accepted a higher contribution to EPS ., and who is willing to pay a higher contribution to EPS now, may be accepted or may not be.
2) since it is the case prior to Aug’2014, naturally who falls within that time frame, must have already come out of EPS after 58 years, before 4 years must be now 62 years, could be allowed by EPF office or not allowed to pay, a difference of EPS contributions.
3) still EPF authorities in doubt weather to accept exempted contributions of EPS or not., however, 2 of the petitioners out of 12 from Praveen Kohli group belongs to exempted companies., and allowed higher pension after paying the diffrence amount.
It is not closed yet, however, EPF authorities thru Apex courts ( intern from supreme court) to get clarifications.
Till then it is assumed by each same conditions of Praveen Kohli case.
Regards.
Dear Ravi ji,
I definitely agree with you that there is no much clarity on this issue and this is leading to multiple interpretations..
Either the EPFO or the SC have to come out openly and issue the required clarifications on this matter.. let’s hope they will do it at the earliest!
Sir, I am a casual worker under BSNL since 6th January, 2001. Now my sallery is Rs.14942/month (Basic+DA)
I am under EPS since 06/01/2001 will be retired on Jan,2033
I want to know that may I opt for Higher Pension or not?
Dear Kaushik,
Yes, you may kindly contact your employer and can apply for higher contributions to EPS fund.
But, I have noticed that EPFO may reject these kindly of applications, citing some or the other reasons… but you may kindly try it out!
Dear sir,,
What is it for retiree of private sector where PF is maintained by a trust and now we are getting pension from PF office
Dear Madhusudan ji ..In such a case, the higher pension clause may not be applicable.
Thanks Sir for your valuable guidance.
I want to know that in case of an unmarried person not having family i.e. wife or children then whether the person nominated for EPF lumpsum fund would be eligible for EPS (Monthly Pension) or not…? Kindly reply
Dear Mr Jain,
Only if the employee has no family, then he or she can nominate anyone else according to his/her wish.
Kindly read :
Nominee Vs Legal Heir : Who will inherit (or) own your Assets? | Importance of WILL
Dear sir, what would be the recovery procedure when choosing for higher pension.whether EPS deduction would be along with interest earned by me on that corpus(employer contribution).
And
Second if after 50 years I choose to go for final pension (.783) ,then can I continue it along with my existing job.
If yes than what about employer deduction and EPS deduction
Please clarify
Dear Rajneesh,
There wont be any interest payment on EPS.
EPF employer deduction can be withdrawn anytime, provided you remain unemployed for more than 60 days and do not contribute to EPF scheme.
Hello. My dad retired from a co-operative bank in 2016. His EPS amount was according to the ceiling i.e. 8.33% of 15000, but his EPF amount was according to the actual salary i.e. 12% of actual basic+da. Will he be eligible for higher pension.
Dear Ketan ..Your father may not be eligible for higher Pension.
Dear Sreekanth,
EPF says as below and it is against Supreme Court order.
In reply to your grievance it is informed that –
i) The proviso to Para 11(3) of the EPS 95 stands deleted with effect from 01.09.2014 vide notification No. GSR 6096 (E) dated 22.08.2014.
ii) Thus the enabling provision to allow member to contribute to the pension fund on higher wages is no more available.
iii) The provisions under 11(4) applies to existing members as on 01.09.2014 who were contributing on higher wages to the pension fund. These members were allowed to give fresh option to continue to contribute on higher wages after 01.09.2014. But the cut off date for exercising such option is also over as on 01.09.2015.
iv) Accordingly, the existing member of EPS’95 who were contributing on higher wages to the pension fund as on 01.09.2014 and who exercised fresh option to continue contribution on higher wages (exceeding Rs.15000/-) to the pension fund and also make additional contribution at the rate 1.16 percent on salary exceeding Rs.15000/-, will be eligible to get the benefit of Pension on higher wages.
In your case, no such option under Para 11(4) was received within the prescribed time limit and contributions were also remitted only on statutory limit wages of in the pension fund. Accordingly, we are constrained to inform that your case would not be eligible pension under actual wages.
extract from supreme court order your put on this site.
“We do not see how exercise of option under
paragraph 26 of the Provident Fund Scheme can be
construed to estop the employees from exercising a
similar option under paragraph 11 (3) . If both the
employer and the employee opt for deposit against
the actual salary and not the ceiling amount,
exercise of option under paragraph 26 of the
Provident Scheme is inevitable. Exercise of the
option under paragraph 2 6 ( 6) is a necessary
precursor to the exercise of option under Clause
11 (3) Exercise of such option, therefore, would
not foreclose the exercise of a further option
under Clause 11(3) of the Pension Scheme unless the
circumstances warranting such foreclosure are
clearly indicated.”
on the benefit schema they cannot put cursor with date and what should a empl0yee has to now.
also learned that EPF went to apex court for review for this. So what should one do now?
Dear Shanmuganathan ji,
The only option is to approach the court. You may kindly consult a legal expert.
Sir,
I am V. Chinnasamy, Coimbatore. I have work experience in Bank of Rajasthan ( now, this is take over by ICICI bank) in 11 years from 1999 to 2010. After that ICICI bank from 2010 to 2017. Total 18 and half years in the banks. Sir, Now I am not getting any pension from the ICICI bank and they refused me to give pension. They told me that 20 years work experience if you have , you are eligible to get pension. Sir please suggest me to get pension. please give proper solution for my problem. Am I eligible to get ordinary pension or not? Please suggest me.
Dear Chinnasamy ji,
If you have contributed to EPS scheme then you can get pension.
Kindly follow it up with your bank’s head office.
Minimum 10 years of service is required to get pension under EPS scheme.
Hello
My dad was working in district co operative bank and retired in the year 2006. He is having total 35+ years of service.
His last contribution for SEP 2016. He is getting around 1500 pension.
Will he be eligible to get the full pension based on supreme court judgement.
Thanks
Ajay Shenoy
Dear Ajay.. He may not be eligible to get the higher pension.
thanks Sir for the reply. Is it because of private trust?
Dear Ajay,
The possible reason is as below ;
“If you are a retiree and contributed to EPS as per ceiling limit then it is unlikely that you will be going to get a revised pension. The reason being, you are no longer a part of EPS and there is no employer involved.”
Hi Sir,
Thanks for the great article. My dad is applicable to get higher pension. Can you please let me know the steps needed to apply for the same or whom to approach either employer or EPFO. Can you explain step by step process. Thank you much in advance
Dear Wasim,
Based on the available information, your father has to approach his ex-employer and apply for higher Pension to the EPFO. The application has to be routed through the employer to the EPFO.
I JOINED IN A TN STATE OWNED MILK FEDERATION AND RETIRED ON 28.02.2010 SERVING NEARLY 36 YEARS OF SERVICE. EPF CONTRIBUTION BOTH FROM EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYER WAS CONTRIBUTED. AT PRESENT I AM DRAWING A MONTHLY PENSION OF RS.1898. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHETHER I AM ELIGIBLE FOR NEW EPS AND IF SO, PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT FURTHER ACTION I HAVE TO PROCEED
Dear ANTHONY ji .. You may not be eligible for higher Pension.
I am a retired person from a Shipping company in Kochi. I retired from my service in 27th Sept 2016 after completion of 60 years. EPS premium was deducted till 27th Sept 2014 upon completion of 58 years and I was drawing monthly EPF pension as 1765/=. I have paid the last EPS premium Rupees 1500 at the time of 58 years and my basic salary was more than 15000/=. I would like to know whether I will be eligible for higher pension as per SC ruling ? My total pensionable period was 19 years as on 27/09/2014. Looking forward to hear from you. With Regards / Haridas K R (Retired Deputy Manager)
Dear HARIDAS ji .. Based on the available information, you may not be eligible for higher Pension.
Hello, My dad retired in 2014 from NTC, a PSE. He receives monthly EPS pension. The NTC has invited request for higher pension from the retired employees, and we also sent the documents to opt for higher contribution to PF and higher pension. We figured out that my dad’s name in his last PF account and Pension Payment Order(PPO) has a minor typographical error and our address is also old one. We want to update our address and correct his name, so that further communication with PF authorities regarding higher pension process is smooth. Can you please guide me, how to update our details with PF and PPO.
Dear aky,
Your father can submit name correction request through his employer to the EPFO.
In case, he has online login to UAN account, you may try submitting name correction request and update address online.
I was employed from 10.10.1983 to 05.10.1994 for 11 years.
I am in existing job from 07.10.1994.
My basic from 1995 is more than 6500 p m and from 2014 is more than Rs 15000.
I will retire from services on 06.11.2018.
Pension as per 1995 stared from Nov.2016 –Rs 2634 .
Pre service of 11 years is not considered for pension calculation.
I have applied to EPFO for recalculation.
Can I apply for pension hike with 8.33% contribution and How.
My organization has enquired in EPFO and received negative answer.
Dear PATIL,
Only EPFO has to /can clarify on this matter.
If EPF contribution is 10% not 12% then is one still eligible for this pension?
Dear Tejinder.. The minimum mandatory PF contribution (and deduction) shall be Rs 1,800 per month (12% of Rs 15,000).
SIR NOT YET FULLY ANSWERED….
IF THE SALARY IS 25000 BUT DEDUCTION IS 10%…THAT IS 2500. THIS MEAN HIGHER THAN 1800 PER MONTH…THEN S IT SATISFIES THE CONDITION.
Important is volume 1800….or percentage 12%
Dear TEJINDER ..It is 12% of basic…
Dear Sreekanth,
I joined in EPF/EPS on 2004. Has 13+ year of Service and I am still contributing with celiing.
Have requested my employeer and raised grivence with EPF, to increase 8.33 of My Baisc to EPS and they are not doing it so. How to handle this
Dear Shanmuganathan,
Based on the available info, the request for higher EPS deductions has to be routed through an employer only. So, you may have to follow it up with your employer..You may kindly check with them.
Dear Sreekanth,
Thanks for your kind reply. I have also gone into different sites, in this regard I have 3 doubts
1) Just for curiosity, is anyone has applied for increasing of 8.3 EPS on current basic and both HR/EPF/EPS has accpeted it and processing it
2) If they accept from date of application and do not go for retrospectively, how they will start giving pension after 20 years of service, where in for example for 14 to 15 years you paid EPS contribution based on wage ceiling for last 5 years you paid 8.3 on basic.
3) But EPF takes average basic salary for last 5 years and if that is the case if they do not calculate the previous year salaries for EPS amount, it will be huge loss for them if they start paying pension.
4) http://www.livemint.com/Money/skuQR9GJFHvFhkaMXCF2zO/Can-you-increase-your-pension-under-EPF.html this said has put 5 category of employees and if you ever in once not paid your EPS of 8.3 on basis you are not eligible and you continue to get EPS on wage ceiling with maximum of 1250 only.
5) Have raised greivences with EPF 2 times and they simply do not read what we said in the case and just closing the case with different different illogical reasons and same the case with HR too?
6) This site too with https://freefincal.com/revised-eps-pension-calculator/
EPF circular attached which says ” This EPFO circular makes it quite clear that if you did not contribute more than Rs. 1250 a month, there is no question of getting a revised EPS pension” EPF circular attached in it.
7) Also on my case, in IT industry for last 15 years., first 2 years, I was in excempted org and another 5 years, EPF/EPS with RPFC and another 4 years with exempted and last 4 years in EPS/EPF in RPFC and not sure will this have impact?
Dear Sreekanth,
Could you please kindly,kindly go through and provide your valuable feedback.
Dear Shanmuganathan,
Your message was in Spam queue (as your comment has url links).
Wish I had answers for your queries. As of now, there is no much info available and unfortunately the body (EPFO) who has to give clarifications is not providing the required information to the stakeholders (employers/employees) regarding higher EPS – higher Pension scenarios/cases.
Dear Sreekanth,
EPF simply denying. despite the fact the supreme court said the cooling period is arbitrary and cannot be imposed.
What should one do, if EPF rejects as below?
In reply to your grievance it is informed that –
i) The proviso to Para 11(3) of the EPS 95 stands deleted with effect from 01.09.2014 vide notification No. GSR 6096 (E) dated 22.08.2014.
ii) Thus the enabling provision to allow member to contribute to the pension fund on higher wages is no more available.
iii) The provisions under 11(4) applies to existing members as on 01.09.2014 who were contributing on higher wages to the pension fund. These members were allowed to give fresh option to continue to contribute on higher wages after 01.09.2014. But the cut off date for exercising such option is also over as on 01.09.2015.
iv) Accordingly, the existing member of EPS’95 who were contributing on higher wages to the pension fund as on 01.09.2014 and who exercised fresh option to continue contribution on higher wages (exceeding Rs.15000/-) to the pension fund and also make additional contribution at the rate 1.16 percent on salary exceeding Rs.15000/-, will be eligible to get the benefit of Pension on higher wages.
In your case, no such option under Para 11(4) was received within the prescribed time limit and contributions were also remitted only on statutory limit wages of in the pension fund. Accordingly, we are constrained to inform that your case would not be eligible pension under actual wages.
R/s Sir
My father retired in june 2017 and was contributing according to the ceiling limit imposed. His application for withdrawal of fund was not accepted by the department at the time of retirement and was asked to resubmit after excercising fresh option. Still his contribution is lying in his account. Is he eligible for higher pension according to Supreme court judgement
Dear parveen ..I believe that he may not be eligible for higher pension.
I hv joined in company 16/08/1996 and a regular contributor to EPFO under prescribed ceiling and I hv more 12 year of service . Can I opt to contribute higher to EPS on full basic salary for higher pension . Ok clarify i m eligible or not . If yes what is the procedure ?
Dear Srikanth Sir
I am Prasad KS , retired in July 2017, paid the EPF on Basic+DA from employee and employer end but gone to EPS basing on the cap of Rs. 6500 /= before September 2014 and 15000/= ( revised).
In this regard, I am willing to know whether I can apply for higher pension upto September 2014 ( if difference can be paid by me) . EPFO says that as retired after September’2014 , not eligible . As the some retirees post September’2014 also gone for court and awaiting order . In the mean while , can I apply for higher pension before period of September’2014 as Judgement related to that period.
Please suggest me
Thanks & Regards
Prasad
Dear Prasad ji,
With the current available information, you may not be eligible for higher Pension.
Dear Mukesh ..Yes, you can be eligible provided your organization is not an Exempted entity.
Kindly check with your employer, if eligible you need to route the application through your employer to the EPFO.
Dear Sreekanth, Your article on the subject matter has given such an immense clarification on the matter that we are confident now to take up the matter with our organisation as well as EPFO. Thanks for your unconditional help to all of us.
Regarding calculation of pension if I start to contribute 8.33% of one’s full Basic+DA from today ( without considering the cap of Rs.15K ) and that EPFO may have to shell out huge money to all subscribers, I came across some clarification on how EPFO will actually calculate the pension which I will present below :
1) Number of years of service is calculated from the year in which a person is subscribing to EPS and not from the year of subscribing to EPF.
2) If a person starts to contribute 8.33% of full Basic+DA from 2018 onwards and if he attains superannuation in the year 2024, number of years of service for pension calculation will be 6 years ( for the enhanced pension ) as EPFO is not ready to accept the contribution from retrospective date.
3) If he has started contributing to EPS from 1996 onwards, then the number of years of service will be from 1996 to 2018 which is 21 years + 2 years bonus.
4) Calculation of pension based on the above will be {[ ( 21+2)x15000/70] + [(6x Full Basic+DA)/70]}.
Please correct me if I am wrong as I got this clarification from a blog from another person who is doing similar service like you.
I have a pdf file of the latest circular sent by Additional Central PF Commissioner to all the regional PF Commissioners on the subject matter of enhanced contribution/pension as per SC verdict which I am not able to attach here. Kindly advice how to do it so that all can view it.
Best regards
P S N Rao
Dear Mr Rao,
Yes, your understanding is correct.
The average salary drawn for the last 5 years of service is used for pension calculation. (I am not sure if it is 6 years).
Dear PSN,
Please send the latest circular of EPF to my mail ID as sarma.ravi@rediffmail.com which we also need to know..Regards
Pl. post supreme court order and how to know I am in EPS scheme
Dear Venkateswarlu ..I have provided the downloadable format in the article itself (towards the end of it).
if an GSRTC employee retired in 2003 July,then will he be eligible for this revised EPS beenfits as per recent Supreme Court ruling..
as per the knowledge I gained from http://www.relakhs.com, any person who has already retired before the supreme court will have ceased to be an employee/ EPF member. so he won’t be eligible for higher pension. but if more no. of such retired persons approach Supreme court for remedy like Mr. Kohl did long back, maybe there will be hope. but someone has to take the lead. Srinath
Dear JAYESH ji,
Based on the information I have, as of now, my answer would be ‘NO’.
If a person has applied for higher EPS contributions during employment and then retired (like Mr Kohli), can now apply for higher pension (by paying differential amount if any).
Hi Sreekanth,
i’m working with a private firm and i think they themselves manage the 12% employer part or through DKM as we have login details through DKM portal for checking PF balance & all.
we are not aware of what % contribution is being done in both EPS/EPF.
How can i check this distribution?
is this order beneficial for private employee’s (i’m working since 2007 and have PF account since then)
Dear Divya,
You can calculate the %of contribution by looking at the contribution amount and your basic salary figure.
This order is applicable for Pvt employees.
However, pvt trusts may not be allowed for higher EPS – higher Pension..
Dear Sir,
Very good information which may useful to all.
Sir. we are the employees of PF exempted organization. Our organization approached EPFO for higher pension as per recent SC order. But EPFO refused so based on the circular dated 31.05.17. Later when our executive association approached in this regard EPFO rejected that based on the circular dated 23.03.17.
Sir, what may be the reason of explanation of EPFO in this way? What should we do now?
Dear Tapan ji..What is the explanation that they have given to your team?
Could you kindly share those circulars’ url links??
Hi All,
Kindly go through this latest article @ Economic Times portal..informative one.
Link : https://goo.gl/xAZshZ
CAN YOU PLEASE PROVIDE THE COPY OF SC JUDGEMENT OR DETAILS FOR RECORDS. THANKS.
Dear Mr Ralhan,
I believe that the court order is silent on whether this can be accepted retrospectively or not (for the employees who are under employment). Kindly check with your employer.
“In case, the contribution to the EPS account is increased with retrospective effect to give pension on full salary, a commensurate amount needs to be transferred from the employee’s EPF account to EPS account. Besides this, the interest earned by the money for the period it remained with EPF should also go to EPS.”
I have emailed you the Supreme Court order (PDF document).
Can you please provide copy of this judgement
Dear Faheem ..I have now provided the downloadable PDF document of SC order in the article.
I AM EMPLOYEE SINCE LAST 30 YEARS AND DUE TO RETIRE IN 2022. I WANT TO CONTRIBUTE ON TOTAL SALARY FOR EPS. WILL IT BE EFFECTIVE NOW OR I CAN OPT SINCE 1995. PLEASE CONFIRM. THANKS.
Sir, my self C.V.Aradhya is working in a private College at Davangere, Karnataka. The employers are contributing 8.33% for pension scheme. I am going to retire in the month of August 2018. Is there any chances to get higher pension at the time of retirement. I have served as employee from 1992. Please clarify.
Dear Aradhya ji.. I believe that you can submit your application for higher EPS & higher Pension option through your employer.
“In case, the contribution to the EPS account is increased with retrospective effect to give pension on full salary, a commensurate amount needs to be transferred from the employee’s EPF account to EPS account. Besides this, the interest earned by the money for the period it remained with EPF should also go to EPS.”
I have been contributing to EPF/EPS since March 2008 a was working in a Company having an exempt Trust. From July 2017, I have shifted to a Company which contributes directly to EPFO. Can I claim higher pension by increasing contributions to EPS?
Dear Sanjay,
I believe that you can apply for higher EPS deductions through your employer.
“If you have been contributing to EPF scheme prior to 2014, you can submit an application through your employer to the EPFO that you would like to contribute 8.33% of full salary instead of statutory limit. The higher contributions can be accepted from the date of your application and may not be retrospectively.”
I THINK IT SHOULD BE ON RETROSPECTIVE EFFECT. PLEASE REVISIT. THANKS.
Dear Sreekanth
I was retired in the month of December 2015 I had 31.5 years service in Grameena Bank as officer and Manager.
From 1985 I am having membership with EPF and our bank is government bank established by an act from Parliament of India. Our pension case is in supreme court from 1995 and not yet cleared till date. can I now apply for EPF pension or I have to wait for Judgment of supreme court.
Dear Mr Reddy,
May I know if your pension case is related to ‘higher EPS & higher Pension’ matter?? (similar to Mr Kohli’s case)
hi
my dad is now 69 his pension we have not applied for pension and he has being contributing for mare than 35 years and we have to apply for the pension. he is still employed by the company and pf is deducted till date on this salary. can he get any benefit with this case now when he apply for pension. can he ask his employer to increase the eps amount will he get benefit. and also after 58 contribution on eps does not happen.
regards
ravi
Dear Ravi,
This is a tricky situation!
You may kindly ask your father to check with his employer on this!
In case, you get any information from the employer, kindly share it here, will be useful to all of us! thanks!
dear reddy ji
we have spoken to employer he does not know what to do on the same, they donot have any problem in increasing eps but neither there consultant nor the hr understand this case or judgement. we would request you to please help us in this case what to do as we have apply for pension.
ravi
Dear Ravi,
His employer has to consult the EPFO and check out the procedure.
I believe that an EPF member has to route his application for higher EPS & higher Pension through employer only.
hi reddy
but as per the judgement he can do this now also as company is deducting the pf and eps is not being deducted as his age is above 58.
will the employer able to change the eps now also when he is not contributing
ravi
Dear Ravi,
As he is still employed and contributing to EPF scheme, he can be eligible for higher pension.
But, his employer has to take-up this issue with EPFO and has to get this done.
Employer has to contact the EPFO and get the required details. Only EPFO can clarify on this matter!
dear sir
i wanted to know if any groups of retired employees getting pf pension have approached SC for a similar higher pension on payment of requisite amount to EPFO.
Regards
Dear Srinath,
As of now, I am not aware of it..tracking this news. In case, I get any such information, will surely update it in this article.
Dear Shrikanth sir,
has any retired employee/s taken the case of higher pf pension in a petition to the SC? regards
Dear Srinath,
Based on the information I have, as of now, NO.
If a person has applied for higher EPS contributions during employment and then retired (like Mr Kohli), can now apply for higher pension (by paying differential amount if any).
Dear Sir,
I am working for a private company and they are contributing to EPF & EPS managed by EPFO. When I asked the third party company which is handling the EPF contributions, they are telling our company is unexempted and the revised eps applicable for exempted only. Is that correct? Kindly share your idea on this. Thank you!
Dear Ramesh,
It’s the other way around!
“Employees of the Exempted Organizations (where PF is administered by the Private Trusts) can not apply for higher EPS contributions.”
I retired in 2013 .I paid my contribution
As per ceiling.but my salary was 35000′. Contribution to the account as per day and basic was never discussed it was not presented to us can I get a higher pension know
Hi Sreekanth,
Really appreciate your service and having thorough knowledge about EPFO.
I am Radha Nagamani, retired in May 2013 after 38 yrs of service. I have had contributed to EPFO all through my career. Am i eligible to get higher pension? I am ready to pay the difference amount like Mr. Kohli did to raise the pension.
Dear Radha ji,
As you have retired from your employment, I dont think you can apply for higher Pension now.
“If you are a retiree and contributed to EPS as per ceiling limit then it is unlikely that you will be going to get a revised pension. The reason being, you are no longer a part of EPS and there is no employer involved.”
Dear Sir
Myself is Prasad , retired in July 2017 , applied for EPF and EPS pension which is under process with PF Dept. my basic salary is Rs. 35000/= being paid EPF by Employee and Employer on Rs. 35000/= Basic salary as contribution to EPF /EPS, Can I apply for getting higher amount of by submitting application with Employer/Employee combined for paying the difference amount and to get higher amount of pension consequent to the Supreme Court order.
It will be helpful to get higher pension for those retired after September 2014 , Please give your expert opinion.
Dear Prasad ji,
As you have retired from your employment, I dont think you can apply for higher Pension now.
By paying the differential amount on the basis of salary ,not restricting to capping , can get heiher pension as how Mr. Kohli got and SC order even for those who retired after Sept 2014 also , which cases seems pending /in process in the SC , I understand.
Can you please suggest me if can get heigher amount once ready to pay differential amount by submitting the consent from employeer and employee .
Prasadk
Dear Prasad ji,
My understanding is that in case of Mr Kohli, he as applied for higher EPS contributions when he was employed and also approached the court in 2005.
I am sure there will be petitions by retirees like you in Courts, need to wait for more information if the Court/EPFO accept will accept or not.
Sir,
I would like to know whether I am eligible for applying to PF authorities for higher pension.
As regards myself, please note –
1. I had retired in April, 2014.
2. I have been a member of PF since 1995.
3. I was an employee of a private organization.
4. My PF contributions are maintained at EPF office (not by any Trust).
An early reply will help me a lot.
Regards,
Dear Mr. MUKHERJEE,
My interpretation is, a retiree can not apply for higher EPS pension now.
Sir,
Pension or higher pension, a retiree only can apply for. Those are in service, can not apply for pension.
Regards,
I am ready to pay the differential amount towards contribution against full salary for the period as may be decided by the EPF authorities. I have been an employee of unexempted organisation.
Shall be thankful if you kindly let me have your views as regards my eligibility for claiming higher pension.
Dear Mr MUKHERJEE,
Those who are in service can apply for higher contributions to EPS and can get higher pension when they retire.
Mr. Kohli had to pay the differential amount to get the higher pension. He retired a couple of years back (probably in the year 2005). As we all know, he is now receiving higher pension.
Dear Mr MUKHERJEE,
Kindly note that Mr Kohli got retired four years ago (2013-14).
I joined w.e.f. 5.03.2003 and contributing as per ceiling .My last pensionable basic is Rs. 15000/- and pensionable service is 12 years and 10 months. As per formula 15000 X 13 years = 195000/70 = 2785 however I am getting my pension R.s 1226 w.e.f. 25.12.2015. Being in employment still I am P.F. Member and contributing my E.P.F. Can I apply for revision.
Dear Jayendra,
If you are still contributing to EPF, how come you are receiving the pension amount?
Have you applied for early pension (@ 50 years)?? But for that one should be unemployed, I guess..
hello Sir
I am working in MTNL and MTNL is deducting CPF since 1-11-1998 will retire on 30-10-2020 MTNL is sending fund to pension a/c to EPFO as per limit currently is 15000/- But my deduction on salary is very higher all the years. Currently Basic pay is 35000/- and DA 44700/ total 81700/- MTNL is exempted org. but pension is being given by EPFO. Can I exercise the option of higher pension. SC judgement is applicable on my case Pl reply
Dear Mr Gupta,
May I know what do you mean by – ‘deduction on salary is very higher all the years’ ??
Is this Voluntary PF? (more contributions)
(or) did you apply for higher EPS contributions?
Dear Reddy,
My salary was all the time since 1998 from prescribed limit Rs 5000/- 6500/- now 15000/- vol contribution is apart from CPF. but employer is sending to EPf O on cap now it is 15000/- since sep-14. My employer is exempted trust being GOI PSU. As per revised order of EPFO exempted org employee can not apply for higher pension. As u are aware that lot of petition has been file before court by the employee of exempted org . In Sc ruling there was no mention of exempted org. some of petitioner were from exempted org. who successed
in the legal battle. If exempted org employee may given chance then I can opt for higher pension.
Dear Mr Gupta,
Yes, in SC order there was no mention of Exempted Org. Only EPFO has made a clarification on this, that exempted org employees can not make fresh applications now!
Plz share update changes
Hi, lot of sharing by you. I have total of 26 years service out of which 8 yrs in exempted org and currently on the look for new job since July 2017(age 54). Not withdrawn PF yet. Want to opt for hiked new EPS. Am I eligible? If yes how to calculate difference amount to be paid and new pension amount and is it worth in terms of yeild. Thanks in advance.
Dear Krishna ji,
There are lot of questions which the EPFO has to answer or provide clarity on this.
EPFO says that contributions can not be hiked on retrospective basis, so if you apply for hike in EPS contribution after you join a new company, the pension is calculated on the last drawn salary (without limit, if your application is accepted), but will EPFO transfer funds from EPF to EPS or will ask you to contribute more amount to EPS to enable you to get higher pension (keeping the entire service period) is a confusing one. As of now, there are different views on this!
Let’s wait for few more days and see if EPFO gives clarification on this front!
You are very prompt .
Sup Court ruling makes it mandatory for EPFO to allow higher contribution to EPS. Even retired employees can opt for this. ET post 30/11/17. SCO is not clear for interpretation I think. Pl update when u get confirmed clarifications on above. Thanks.
Dear Krishna,
Yes, agree with you.. the court order is an open-ended one, leading to multiple interpretations.
All of us need clarity on ;
* Whether EPS contributions can be hiked retrospectively or from the date of application, and if so, what would be the procedure for transferring amount from EPF to EPS?
* Whether already retired EPF members can now apply for higher pension by depositing the requisite amount to the EPFO
* If exempted Organizations (Pvt trusts) employees can apply for higher pension or not..
I am retired in 2015 on completing 60 years. But I am getting epfo pension from 2013 Octobner i.e from 58 years of age. Whether already retired EPF members can now apply for higher pension by depositing the requisite amount to the EPFO
Dear Rajan ji.. I believe that retirees may not be eligible to apply for higher EPS pension..this is my interpretation of the latest court order..
Sir,
Thanks for your educative blog.
I was employed from 1975 t0 1998. My contribution to EPS started in 1995 and ended in 1998, when I retired.
Am I ELIGIBLE to receive INCREASED Pension of EPS scheme retrospectively from date of retirement till date i. e. arrears and in future ? Is 100 years service to be counted only after 1995 or is service from 1975 to 1995 also to be counted for being eligible
Please email your reply to my email id.
May God Bless you!
Dear Ganesh ji,
As you have retired from the job, I believe you can not apply for higher Pension now.
Sir,
As you know, Mr. Kohli was also retired and was receiving pension less than that which he should have received as per the amendment to EPS. hence Court Case etc. and then he applied and got increased pension. I am retired in 1998 and am receiving pension of Rs.1000/- per month as of now and hence my question. Please clarify your answer why I am not eligible to apply for enhanced pension.
Oblige please.
Dear Ganesh ji,
Kindly note that Mr Kohli had been contributing higher amount to EPS during his employment and also approached the court as the EPFO was not accepting their demand for accepting higher contributions and higher pension.
Dear Sir,
1) Mr. Kohli or for that matter any subscriber did not contribute to EPS fund.
It is EPFO . It was EPFO which deducted 8.33% of Employer’s contribution to EPF with cap of Rs 6500/-. Contribution of higher amount to EPS by Mr. Kohli does not arise.
2) As per SC Judgement, All appellants including Mr. Kohli, in 2006, became aware of added clause, by amendment in 1996, thereby raising the contribution to 833% of basic+DA without cap. When they approached EPFO, they refused to accept their applications on the grounds of cut off dates, which was either the date of amendment or the date of increase of Basic+ DA more than Rs. 6500/-
3) As per SC judgement, the appellants approached Himachal Pradesh High Court which upheld EPFO stand.as such the appellants approached SC in 2015, and got the order in their favour in 2016,following which Mr. Kohli paid the arrears of increased EPS contribution and received the the increased EPS arrears due to him etc.
To cut the matter short, just please answer one question asked by me in the beginning.
IS 10 YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT TO BE COUNTED AFTER EPS SCHEME CAME IN 1995 OR WHETHER THE SERVICE PERIOD BEFORE AND AFTER 1995 TO BE COUNTED FOR 10 YEARS PERIOD TO MAKE ONE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE EPS AS PER SC ORDER?
Dear Ganesh ji,
Yes, Mr Kohli had made an application during his employment itself, that holds the key here.
These are my personal views, can be wrong as well.
It is very clear that EPFO has to provide clarification and more details on this matter! You may kindly contact the EPFO or your ex-employer. In case, you get more information, kindly share it here, can be useful to all of us! thank you!
Hello Sreekanth,
Thank you for sharing the details.
My father in law have served for one of the private company for more than 30 years and just retired in the month of October 2017.He got internally transferred to another company of the same Group with different PF account.
Whether he is eligible to give the application to increase his pension?
Regards,
Ashish H
I just forgot to mention the transfer year. He got transferred to other company in 2015 and took voluntary retirement in 2017 as company shut off all the activities.
Dear Ashish,
Has he withdrawn EPF in Oct 2017 and applied for EPS monthly pension?
Did the transfer (job) happened in the same month?
If he has transferred the funds from old EPF account to new EPF account, I guess he can submit application for higher EPS contributions. But, advisable to check with the employer.
No , he did not withdrawn his PF. He has given the application to withdraw the PF as well as for EPS monthly pension but still employer has not submitted the application to EPF office. Also the transfer happened in the same month.
Shall I ask to employer regarding this?
Dear Ashish ..If that is the case, I believe that he can apply now for higher contributions to EPS. Kindly suggest him to check this with the employer.
Hi Sreekanth,
Great post as usual. This seems to be the hot topics and many have differing views.
I have a few doubts
What if I let the existing arrangement continue and increase my contribution to EPS only during the last 5 years?
1. Is that allowed?
2. Wouldn’t I get the same pension even if I were to start contributing now or contribute higher amount only in the last 5 years? Assume my age is 30 years.
3. If I opt for higher contributions in the last 5 years, do I need to make retrospective adjustments i.e. transfer from EPF to EPS?
Dear Deepesh,
Very good questions!
I believe that EPFO may have to factor the service period differently to get higher pension. Just because one contributes higher amount to EPS for law few years (of his/her service period), I believe pension can not be high, as it is calculated on the last drawn salary amount. (or) The employee has to contribute for full service period (based on his wages over the period).
I think, the higher contributions can be accepted from the date of the application and not retrospectively, so another view is (as also opined by you) adjustment/transfer from EPF to EPS.
EPFO has to provide more clarity on this and I doubt they will..
May I know your views on the calculation part??
Hi Sreekanth,
I believe the last word is yet to be written in this matter.
I am a bit challenged so far as my knowledge on EPS is concerned. Not sure about anything. In such cases, I always turn to your blog. 🙂
For all you know, the final outcome could be, “Only those who applied or asked for higher EPS contribution before the amendment in 2014 are eligible for such higher pension”.
Will essentially rule out everybody.
Given the present formula, it seems the system can be gamed.
I agree EPFO may have to figure out a different formula or rules to avoid this kind of gaming.
Moreover, retrospective contributions will open up Pandora’s box. EPFO has anyways mentioned this can’t be done for private trusts.
Yes, we should wait for more clarity.
If I may ask, what calculations are you referring to?
Dear Deepesh,
I partly agree with your point – “Only those who applied or asked for higher EPS contribution before the amendment in 2014 are eligible for such higher pension”.
I believe that EPFO might accept the applications from the subscribers of non-exempted Entities, who have been contributing to EPF/EPS prior to sep 2014…as the Supreme court has clearly said that time restriction can not be imposed..
I was referring to formula calculation only, nothing in specific!
Another tricky situation can be..what if an employee has service period which span across different entities (both Exempted & Un-exempted entities)!
Thanks for sharing your views!
Hello Sir,
Please provide the sample application form to be submitted to my current employer to raise my EPS contribution to 8.33% of the Salary. Note that I enrolled to EPFO before 1st Sep 2014.
Thanks,
Jee K R
Dear Jee,
As of now, I do not have sample/draft application form for increase of EPS contributions..Kindly contact your employer regarding this!
You may kindly show this notification to your employer and try to check if they can route your application to the EPFO.
Sir I have doubts
I have two questions..
In epf website I modify my details.. Few days before till now they didn’t response
My second question is.. I claimed my pf online the status was settled but till now I didn’t receive the amount.. Plz provide the solution
Last question
Please tell me the procedure to create employer login.. Without any offline and epfo assistance.. Plz help us sir.. I am ur blog aspirants
Dear Suriyan,
Who did not respond? Your employer or EPFO? (Are you referring to online name correction facility?)
Did you track the claim status online? What is the message that you are receiving?
I do not have information on the ’employer-side’ EPFO login procedure.
Dear Sreekanth,
I have been following relakhs regularly and I would like to thank you for your service in helping people increase their financial knowledge.
Regarding this article, I have the below queries.
I have been contributing to government EPF scheme from 2006.
From 2010-2016 I was contributing to exempted trust.
From 2016 I am again contributing to government EPF.
1. Can I request my current employer to increase my EPS contribution?
2. What is the amount of pension I can receive after retirement as per this process?
Thanking you in anticipation.
Dear Madhava,
Thank you for following my blog posts!
1 – Yes.
2 – Depends on your total service period and wage at the time of retirement. Kindly refer to the formula given in the above article.
Dear Sreekanth,
Thank you for the prompt response.
So I understand that as per the formula the pension will be calculated without the maximum limit on 15k basic pay.
Madhava,
Dear Madhava,
If you have joined the EPF scheme prior to 2014 then you can apply for higher EPS contributions.
8.33% will be calculated on your basic pay instead of Rs 15k (which is the current statutory wage limit).
Do note that EPFO may reject applications received from Pvt trusts, so kindly check if your EPF is maintained by EPFO or your Organization’s pvt trust.
Dear Sreekanth,
Thank you for the details.
My current PF (from 2016) is maintained by EPFO.